Runaway
by xxdonedirtcheapxx
Summary: Battlelines are clearly drawn between the Mikaelsons just as Rebekah gets to New Orleans with the new man in her life, Enzo. Can the family be saved? And who will make it out alive?
1. Chapter 1

If there are spoilers out there for how either season of either show ends, I don't know them. So I'm writing my own outline on what led us here to the beginning of this ficlet series. I have desperately wanted Enzo to join the cast of The Originals and still hope when TVD ends that he will. He would make a perfect match for Rebekah, could have quite a good time hanging out with Kol and Klaus, and drive Elijah crazy. Not to mention Marcel!

So in my fictional world, Rebekah eventually was placed back inside her body after helping to resurrect Kol. Dahlia was somehow defeated, the how is not really important for this series. Bex left town, to continue on her quest to live her own life (with Claire's new shorter hair). Enzo left Mystic Falls after feeling he was too violent for Sara Salvatore and had no shot with Caroline. So they wind up here. In this bar. Somewhere on the outer border of Virginia.

* * *

"I want to drown my sorrows mate," Enzo pointed to a bottle behind the bartender "I just put Mystic Falls in my rear view. About bloody time."

"Mystic Falls?" an alluring accent inquired from behind him.

Without even laying eyes on her, just the lilt in her voice alone sent a shiver through him that he hadn't felt in quite a while.

"Can I get you a drink?" the bartender looked around him, as the owner of the voice stepped up to the bar and propped her leather clad elbows on the dark wood.

"I'll have what he's having," she motioned toward Enzo's glass.

"I don't know about that love," he smirked, still not looking over "Might be to much for you."

"I'm sure I can handle it," she bit back in a lower voice.

The bartender sat the double Irish whiskey shot down in front of the woman and she turned her body toward Enzo.

"Cheers?"

He swiveled around on his stool to look at her and he felt his breath catch in his throat. She was quite possibly the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. That was saying something with his decades of experience. Her blonde hair was cut short, framing her face. Her eyes were brimming with mischief and magic and everything that excited him.

She held her shot glass up and waited for him to clink his against hers. As they did, their eyes locked and he noted how easily the whiskey slid down her throat as she slammed the glass onto the bar.

"So," she finally took the seat next to him "What brought you to Virginia? Have you fallen under the spell of Elena Gilbert?"

"No, love," he laughed "She's not my type."

"Ah...do you fancy a Salvatore then? Stefan or Damon?"

She reached around the bar and grabbed a cherry from a container and let it dangle around her lips before taking it into her mouth.

"Damon," he smiled smugly "But not the way I'm sure you fancy him."

"The Salvatores?" she laughed lightly, reaching for another cherry "I've had them both. I can honestly say there is nothing I miss about either one of them. They are both so ridiculously tied to that boring, pathetic baby vampire...She was so much more bearable without her humanity. Pity."

She rolled her eyes as she threw another cherry stem onto the bar.

"Hey bartender!" she spat "Two more over here."

"Perhaps you should pace yourself, sweetheart?" Enzo pushed his empty glass away from him.

"First of all," she turned toward him, crossing one leg over another "Don't call me sweetheart."

The music in the bar blared behind them as a house band started to play some horrendous rendition of Free Bird.

"And second!" she yelled over the noise "I could drink you under this bar."

He shrugged with an impressed smile on his lips.

"So you've been to Mystic Falls," he pondered the information, as he studied her carefully "How do you fit in with the whole lot?"

"How do I fit in?" she sighed, taking her shot from the bartender and downing it with ease "To start with, I was born there. One of the founding families you could say."

"Founding family..." Enzo was becoming more intrigued by the minute.

"Mhm," she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and fished a lime out of the container behind the bar.

"My brothers and I left there, oh a thousand years ago..."

"A thousand years..." the pieces were starting to connect inside his brain "...You're an Original vampire."

"Good on ya, mate. You got one right," she rolled her eyes sarcasm dripping in her voice, waving the bartender over again.

"Rebekah, isn't it?" he grinned "I've heard stories about you."

"All bad I'm sure," she smiled, then leaning in closer "At least those are the most interesting ones, aren't they?"

"I don't typically have a thing for bad girls," Enzo downed his next shot "I'm more for the damsel in distress."

"That's a shame. Us girls who can take care of ourselves are a lot more fun," she raised a playful eyebrow at him "I don't need anyone to fight my battles."

"Of that I am entirely certain," he smiled with somewhat admiration.

He was simply admiring her status, she was sure. Wasn't ever day an Original walked into a bar.

"So do you have a name or should I just refer to you as Damon's lackey?"

"Enzo," he smirked "Damon and I were friends. Best friends, long ago...I've left that town. Don't have any plans on going back."

"Neither do I," Rebekah fumbled with another lime, sucking the juice from it "Not at the moment anyway."

"So where do you call home?"

"I don't know," she finally answered after pausing in thought for a moment "I guess you could say I don't really have one. My brothers live in New Orleans."

"New Orleans? Lovely city. Filled with lovely tourists," Enzo smiled fondly "...Your brothers have quite the reputation. Klaus sounds like a _real_ nut job."

Instead of being offended, a little giggle escaped her lips.

"If Nik were here right now, your heart would be on a stake," she gathered herself.

"Nik?" he furrowed his brow in confusion at the nickname, "Niklaus? Yes well, perhaps I will _never_ have the pleasure of making his acquaintance."

"Most people would do anything to stay clear of him," she leaned up on the bar with her elbows, swirling her finger around the rim of her shot glass.

"Does that include you?"

"Once," she shrugged "Maybe more than once...But not now."

She licked the lime juice off her fingers and stood from the bar. Enzo's eyes grew wide with disapproval.

"Leaving so soon?"

"This music is horrendous and the liquor is cheap. Since you only go for damsels, I guess there's no point in continuing this conversation. As a matter of fact, I'm bored."

"It's not to late to teach an old vampire new tricks," he stood and faced her.

"I don't know, breaking in new bad boys," she eyed him up and down "Not really my thing."

"I never said I was a good boy," he moved a little closer to her, his voice growing lower.

"You didn't have to," she said, moving her mouth just by his ear "Good night, Enzo."

He watched her walk out of the bar in her high heels boots and tight black leather pants.

She was the Original sister.

A legend in her own right.

She was not going to get away that easily.

Perhaps it was time he gave up on the damsels.


	2. Chapter 2

I'm glad some of you like the idea of these two together! Eventually they will find their way to New Orleans but for now, I just want them to get to know each other without the family drama.

* * *

"Hey, where you going?"

Rebekah cringed and stopped in the middle of the sidewalk she had been sauntering down. She had spent the entire night, into the early morning partying at one of the most exclusive clubs in New York City. Sewing her wild oats, her brothers would say. Trying desperately to be human and have human experiences. There had been a fair share of men who had taken their turn dancing with her but one in particular had been especially persistent. No doubt he expected more than just a few encounters on the dance floor.

"Excuse you?" she turned on her high heels to stare at him with annoyance.

He was average looking, maybe a little bit above average. Probably had some stuffy corporate job and used the weekends to spend his money on overpriced champagne and private seating in order to rope women in. He had been passing her champagne flutes of Cristal all evening long. Every so often playing with the hem of her short red dress.

"Is that it?" he raised his hands to his sides, "You just gonna bail on me?"

"I"m not bailing on you..." she searched for his name in her memory but it was a little hazy from the champagne and tequila shots she had downed over the last few hours.

"Brian," he seemed truly offended as he caught up with her at last.

"It's late, Brian," she tried to her best to hold her composure, jerking her arm from his hand when he reached for it "I want to go to sleep."

"Then come home with me," he grabbed her arm again "I have a penthouse suite a few blocks from here. Fridge fully stocked with champagne..."

She jerked her arm free again.

"I'll pass."

He moved toward her again and before she could retaliate by knocking him out cold, she saw him lurch forward. His eyes widened, his mouth opened in horror and she heard the familiar sound of a hand being plunged inside a body. Within seconds, his corpse fell to the ground. Behind him stood Enzo, Brian's heart clutched between his blood streaked fingers.

"He needs to learn some manners," Enzo smirked, "That's no way to speak to an Original vampire. Especially one as lovely as you."

"You've been following me," she folded her arms across her chest smugly.

"I love New York City. Doesn't everybody? I've seen people walking around with these hideous t-shirts..." he glanced around, tossing the heart into a nearby trashcan.

"Not just New York...Boston a week ago, DC two weeks before that..." she eyed him carefully.

A little smile danced across his lips, as he tugged his leather jacket around his body even tighter.

"Why?" she shook her head.

"If you noticed me, why not call me out on it?" he stepped closer to her.

"I don't know," she admitted honestly "Perhaps I found you...intriguing."

Again she could hear her brothers' voices in her head.

_You give affection to anyone who shows you the slightest bit of attention Rebekah. _

_Stop being so predictable, Rebekah._

_It's pathetic._

There was something different about this one though. She could feel it.

"In any case, thanks for the save. Although, like I told you, I'm no damsel in distress. I could have taken him down with my pinkie finger."

The confident smile that came across her lips, made him laugh lightly, fists digging deeper into his jacket pockets.

"Even strong girls, deserve some chivalry every once in a while."

"You never answered my question," she stepped closer to him, their faces inches apart "Why are you following me?"

"Perhaps I find you intriguing Miss Mikaelson. So much so that I have reduced myself to stalker like tendencies to find myself in your presence."

"In that case, I"ll be seeing you around...Enzo, wasn't it?"

She pretended as though his name was barely attainable. When in reality, she had thought about him hundreds of times over the last month.

"Lorenzo, actually. That is, if you want to be formal."

"Lorenzo," she let the name glide off her tongue "I like that better...Good night, Lorenzo."

She turned to leave but secretly hoped he would stop her. He didn't disappoint.

"So that's it then?" he called from behind her back "You're going to leave me here on the street with a rotting corpse in the middle of the night?"

"I'm sure it's not the first time you've disposed of a corpse. Might I suggest the trash compactor two blocks down?"

He reached down and pulled Brian's body over his shoulder.

"Care to escort me?"

She knew she should say no. She needed to keep this game up. Men, especially vampires, enjoyed a good chase.

"Fine," she folded her arms across the low cut of her dress "I'll be your escort, Lorenzo. Wouldn't want to leave a helpless vampire on these streets alone."

He licked a smirk from his lips, as he turned and headed toward the direction of the compactor. She reached his side within a second.

"So why this little road trip?" he broke the silence between them "You said your family lives in New Orleans but you have no home?"

"My family is incredibly complicated," she sighed, a light breeze causing her hair to fly into her face which she quickly tucked behind her ears.

"Never had a family," Enzo shifted the weight of the body he was carrying.

"Sometimes I wish I didn't," she sighed.

"You would be surprised, Rebekah. Sometimes a complicated family is better than nothing."

She immediately felt bad for what she had said. Yes, her family was complicated. Fifty percent of the time she wanted to kill them but the truth was, they were hers. They had been hers for a thousand years. Klaus had never left her side in all that time. Despite their differences, she knew if she needed her brothers they would be there for her.

"I suppose you're right," she said in a lower voice.

"So what's so complicated that it sent you thousands of miles away?"

"You want the short version?" she laughed, and she saw him relax again "My entire life, I have lived in the shadow of my brothers. One in particular."

"Klaus," he finished her thought.

"Yes," she nodded "Nik suffers from an incredible case of paranoia."

"And all the rest of us vampires are completely sane," Enzo chimed in, smirking over the dead body he was carrying.

"It's more than that," she sighed "He has always thought that I, in particular, wanted to abandon him. So, he made sure I could never leave."

"And how did he do that?"

"Surely you have heard of the two objects that can take down an Original?"

"Pure mythology as far as I was concerned...Until I met you."

"Then you know of the daggers that can send us into a magical sleep...Nik has daggered me more times than I can count. I have spent almost a century at one time asleep in a coffin while my brother continued on with his life."

They reached the compactor and Enzo hoisted the body inside, then pushed the button that brought the machine to life.

"Don't take this the wrong way love, but your brother sounds like some sort of freak."

Rebekah laughed.

"I told you, it's complicated...The point is, we finally came to an...understanding. I'm free to do as I please now, without fear of punishment."

"I take back what I said earlier, perhaps nothing is better than complicated," Enzo smiled.

"So," Rebekah looked around "Now that you have disposed of our complication, am I free to go?"

"Only if you allow me to return the favor. Shall I escort you to your hotel? I promise not to offer you champagne."

She smiled at the little jab he was taking at the man who's body was now crushed with the garbage from the city.

"Killing civilians isn't really my thing you know? It wasn't necessary."

"Yes well, just because it's not necessary doesn't mean it's not just," he held his arm out to her and she hooked her arm through it.

"It's just a few blocks from here," she informed him, then she rolled her eyes "Although I'm sure you know that."

"I just might be staying in the same establishment," he stared straight ahead "The breakfast there is quite incredible, wouldn't you say? Care to dine with me tomorrow morning?"

"Well since you offed my only other potential breakfast companion, how can I say no?"


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm seriously getting into this ship. I hope some of you are still with me on this!**

* * *

"When you invited me for breakfast, I thought that you actually meant_ breakfast_."

Rebekah grinned over her mimosa at Enzo as he entered the dining room of the hotel. She had wakened to a text on her cell to meet him at 12:00 pm.

"I believe the correct word for it in this day and age is _brunch_," he smiled confidently sliding into the seat across from her and tossing his napkin onto his lap "You _do_ have brunch in New Orleans, don't you?"

"I'm on my third mimosa," she held up her champagne flute in a mock cheers.

The waitress appeared, as if on cue with a bloody mary in hand. She then offered her wrist up to him, which he bit and dropped the blood into the tomato juice. He stirred it with the celery stick garnish and stared across the table into her eyes.

"I hope you don't mind. I took the liberty of ordering for us," he informed her after downing half of his drink.

"Do you always sleep til noon?" she reached across the table for a croissant.

"Do my sleeping habits bother you Rebekah?" he smirked, taking a loud bite of the celery.

She studied him carefully. He was dressed in the same t-shirt and leather jacket from last night. He had a confident way about him that made her despise and want him all at once. She was certain he knew that.

"Why am I here? More importantly why are _you_ here?" she dropped her butter knife onto her plate.

"I told you I find you a rather intriguing creature...Doesn't happen very often. Your history fascinates me."

"So you want to write my autobiography?" she smirked "Nik's already got his own half-penned."

"You know, for someone who wants her own identity away from her family, you speak of them often," he observed, biting into a muffin from a basket on the table.

"Well," she sighed, leaning back in her seat "They're all I know. Old habits die hard I suppose."

He noticed he had hit a nerve, but he wanted to continue dissecting that nerve.

"How did it happen exactly?"

"What?" she furrowed her brow, as she chewed on a bit of her bread.

"Vampirism. How is it that we came to be what we are?"

"You haven't heard that story?"

"You'd be surprised what little I know about our species," he seemed almost detached, biting down on the inside of his cheek aggressively as if to hold back his rage "Short of our physiological functions...Most of my life was spent...in captivity."

Rebekah could see that_ she_ now had hit a nerve. She could see bitterness and even a hint of pain in his eyes before he darted them away from hers to stare down at his table setting.

"Captivity?" she asked in confusion.

"I'll tell you my pitiful story after you tell me yours...How is it you met your fate, Rebekah Mikaelson?"

"Oh that one's easy," she leaned up on the table with mock enthusiasm "My father stabbed me through the heart with his sword while Nik watched."

Enzo's eyes widened, as the waitress returned and set down their meals. Omelette for him, eggs benedict for her. He sat up closer in his seat, propping his elbows on the table and absently playing with the rim of his cocktail glass.

"I still remember Nik screaming," she was already taken back to that moment, "We had finished dinner. It was the first night that Mikael had ever offered all of us wine to drink with the meal. Usually the older boys were allowed, but never all of us. I thought it odd at the time but then, if you knew my father...Little did we know that the wine was laced with blood...We all dressed for bed, Nik had lit the fire in our hut...Kol left to gather some firewood. I heard him scream out into the night. Mikael had killed him just outside the door...Then he came for us. His sword was already covered with blood. Kol's blood. Finn's blood...Elijah's...He pointed it at me and I tried to scream but I couldn't. I remember I couldn't even breathe."

Enzo was entranced. A horrific tale of innocence lost, of a family at its worst. He could see the pain mixed in with the far off expression on her face as she continued.

"Then Nik started screaming at Mikael to put down the sword. He never challenged my father. It was the first time I had ever heard him raise his voice to him...Mikael told him that he would take me first, just to make Nik suffer even more; to stand there and be helpless as his little sister died before his eyes..I still remember the pain. Looking at my father and knowing he was ending my life. And I had no idea why...When we woke, we were alone. Covered in blood, scared beyond any fear I had ever felt before or since...Mikael came back later and made us drink blood to complete the transition...I knew the girl, she was my friend in the village."

Enzo met her eyes as she came back to Earth and she smiled shyly, almost as if she were ashamed.

"That must have been horrifying for all of you," Enzo shook his head in sincere amazement.

"My father was a monster," the color returned to her face "So was my mother. They believed because they had lost two children that they had to preserve the others. Then, no sooner than we had been created, they wanted us destroyed. Nik killed my mother before we left the village. Then we ran for a thousand years from our father...Mikael wanted us all dead. Nik most of all...Despite the fact, that he was a vampire himself, he made it his personal mission to end our species."

"The way you speak of your father, I assume the bastard is dead," Enzo finished off his drink and motioned to the waitress for another round.

"Finally," she let out an amused laugh, breaking the thick tension she felt inside "After several resurrections, he's gone for good."

"We all owe Bonnie Bennett a great debt for helping to bring down the other side so that he couldn't crawl his way back again," Enzo took a bite of his eggs.

"Ugh, must we discuss that witch?" Rebekah stabbed her egg with her fork, then with a cheeky grin "Here we are having a perfectly lovely brunch and you bring up the name of one of the people I despise most in this world."

Her playfulness had returned, and he decided not to push for more details. Not yet.

"Consider her forgotten," he held his hands up "Never had much use for her anyway."

A little giggle escaped her lips, as she started on her fourth mimosa. They sat in silence for a moment, eating their breakfast. When she had finished her plate, Rebekah sat down her fork and leaned toward him with an inquisitive expression.

"Now, what's _your_ pitiful story Lorenzo. How is it _you_ came to be what _we _are?"

"That is a story for another day love," he wiped his mouth with his napkin.

"No fair," she gasped "I sit here and pour my bloody heart out to you..."

"Do you want to go somewhere?" he interrupted her tantrum.

"What?" she wrinkled her nose at him.

"Do you want to go with me or not?"

"Where?"

"Does it matter?"

He stood to his feet and extended his hand to her. She downed the rest of her drink and reluctantly took it. He suppressed the urge to smile.

"Seems to me after the hell we have both endured, it's time to have a little bloody fun."


	4. Chapter 4

**This one is a little shorter but the next chapter will be much longer. **

* * *

"You've gone seven hours without compelling a single dealer," Rebekah smiled over at Enzo as he placed a ten thousand dollar bet.

"Who needs compulsion when you have lady luck on your side doll face?" he smiled, picking up his glass and taking a long drink of whiskey.

"Well as fascinating as this all is..." she was interrupted by the rousing cheers of the people gathered around the table as Enzo won, again.

"You're bored," he gathered, raking the chips toward him greedily.

"I've never had much use for making money," she shrugged.

"That's because you had a bevel of brothers to get it all for you. You're on your own now, Rebekah. Time to learn how to make an honest living," he winked at her mischievously.

"Honest?" she gaped "You call gambling into the middle of the night with this pack of hyenas an honest living? Honest living would be a doctor or a lawyer or..."

"That's a boring living if you ask me," he smirked, gathering up his chips in stacks.

She sighed, reaching to help him get them all to carry to cash in. There were so many, even their vampire arms could hardly hold them all.

Once they had collected his winnings, they headed out of the Bellagio and into the Las Vegas night.

This was their third day in the city of Sin. It _had_ been rather glorious. Rebekah had reveled in the nightlife, the shopping, the glitz and glamour. Every night they dined in an expensive restaurant, both of them dressed in clothes she had purchased earlier in the day. Fancy cocktail dresses for her and suits for him, which he tried to object to but she wouldn't hear of it. He pretended to put up a fight but secretly enjoyed the attention she gave him. The more time he spent with her, the more he wanted. He had chosen not to bring up the past, deciding instead to give both of them the true vacation they deserved. It sounded to him like they had both been mistreated for years, now they could take care of themselves.

They had exited just in time to see the fountain show outside the casino. Rebekah walked toward it with a giddy expression on her face, just like a child. Enzo had to admit that she looked beautiful. She was wearing a light pink cocktail dress, covered in sequins, tight fitting to her body. She was stunning. Just as stunning as the day he met her.

He walked up beside her and joined in the reveling of the water display. She looked over at him and smiled.

"Thank you for bringing me here Lorenzo."

"It has been my pleasure Rebekah."

They continued to stare at each other. The water dancing beside them, the music and noise all around them. He reached out and ran his hand along the side of her face and he could see her breath hitch in her throat. Tilting his head, Enzo moved in to kiss her. Something he had been wanting to do for days now...

Suddenly the sound of a cell phone ringing interrupted them. They both froze and Rebekah let out a disappointed sigh. She had learned not to ignore her phone. With her family, every phone call could literally be the difference between life and death.

"Hold that thought," she whispered close to his ear, grabbing the phone out of her clutch and walking away from him.

Enzo ran his hands over his face with frustration that his golden opportunity had been taken from him. There was not point in trying to find some telephone privacy, his vampire hearing allowed him to zero in on the conversation right away.

"Whatever this is _better_ be important Kol!" she spat into the phone.

"Nice to hear from you too sister. It's been days," the familiar voice of her brother filled the phone.

"_What_ is it Kol?" she was growing impatient.

"Do you know what tomorrow is Bex?"

"Get to the point now or..."

"Tomorrow is our sweet niece's first birthday."

She immediately felt guilty. She had raised that little girl for months on her own, formed a bond with her like a mother and yet she had failed to remember something so important.

"You should see the compound. Nik's got it decorated like a bloody fairy land. Twinkle lights, trees, drapery...I'm getting sick just looking at it."

When Kol had been resurrected, he had returned to his old vampire ways. He wasn't nearly as sensitive as he was in his witch form but the bonds he had formed with his family during that time had remained.

"I forgot Hope's birthday..." Rebekah sighed into the phone.

"Well you better be here. Nik will be impossible to live with if you don't show up. Where are you anyway?"

"Um, out west. I can um, I can get a flight. I'll be there ok? Tell Nik I'll be there."

She turned around to see Enzo was staring at her.

"Is there anything on the invitation about a plus one?"


	5. Chapter 5

"It's not to late to back out, you know?" Rebekah sighed nervously, fidgeting with the pack of pretzels the stewardess had given her earlier.

"I already told you Rebekah, I don't scare easily," Enzo glanced over at her, pulling his eyes from the window.

"You could explore New Orleans, I could go to the party and we could meet up afterwards," she continued to ramble.

Enzo watched as she squeezed the packet of pretzels until they were nothing but crumbs. He placed his hand over hers to steady it and her eyes looked up to meet his.

"I can handle myself, love. I _have_ dealt with my share of demons in my eternal life."

She could see a lost, almost sickened look in his eyes that worried her.

"You never talk about your past," Rebekah's voice softened.

"No, I don't."

They sat in silence for a moment, except for the crying of someone's baby a few rows up and she could sense his agitation at the noise. She placed her hand over his in an attempt to comfort him, although she had no idea what from.

"Will you tell me your story one day?"

"Soon," he smiled softly at her "One crisis at a time shall we? We're about to land."

* * *

"Let me do all the talking," she sighed nervously as they stood outside the Mikaelson compound.

"Right," he replied, although he wasn't really listening anymore.

For years he had heard stories of the fabled Klaus and Elijah Mikaelson and now he was inches away from them. He was inches away from meeting Rebekah's entire family.

"Especially with Nik," she insisted as they walked toward the door "I'll handle Nik."

"Yes, yes I know. The wild brother only you can tame," Enzo rolled his eyes.

Rebekah darted a spiteful glare at him over her shoulder, as she raised her hand to ring the bell.

Perhaps he was being a bit dramatic, even Rebekah could not tame Klaus Mikaelson. From the stories she had shared with him over the last few weeks, it did seem as though she could speak fondly of him one second and harshly the next.

A young vampire girl peered through the bars that barricaded the compound and her eyes lit up with astonishment. Rebekah didn't recognize her. Must be part of a new crop.

"Hello," she forced a smile on her face "I'm..."

"Rebekah Mikaelson," the vampire seemed in aw as she unlatched the door "Your brothers have been expecting you."

"Goody," she mumbled to herself, walking passed the younger vampire and heading into the great common area of the compound.

Enzo walked a few steps behind her, still a little wary but intrigued.

The place was decorated beautifully. Trees, ferns, roses, lights, canopies, swings. It was far greater than anything she imagined Klaus had been able to accomplish on his own. With Hayley still in the bayou, she knew that the child's mother had no part in it. Through her talks with Elijah, she had learned Davina had refused to help break the curse on the pack but that Freya had agreed. This of course did not set well with Klaus who kicked out their new found sister. Freya, who was living miles away, was still working on a way to undo the crescent curse and set Hayley and Jackson free. A secret Rebekah could keep from Klaus. It was none of her concern.

"Your brother was right," Enzo surveyed the room "This _is _a bloody fairyland."

"Only the best for my niece," Rebekah smiled at him.

"Sister," Kol called from the top step, a cheeky grin plastered across his face.

He slid down the handrail and jumped off, landing directly in front of her.

"Now, you didn't have to get all dressed up just for _us_," he smirked.

It took a moment for it to register but she glanced down and then rolled her eyes at him. She was still dressed in her pink cocktail dress from the night before. They had been in such a rush to catch their flight and she had been so beside herself with the idea of bringing Enzo into the nest of vipers that she called family, she had neglected to even change. She was sure she wreaked of booze and cigarette smoke.

Kol hooked his arm around her shoulders and turned her so that they both were facing Enzo. She could feel her brother sizing him up carefully, as he had done so many times before in the past. Kol had never killed one of her potential love interests, but he had maimed and humiliated quite a few.

"And who do we have here? Did you pick him up on the plane, Bex?"

"Shut up, Kol," she grumbled nervously.

Kol extended his free hand to Enzo, which he took cautiously.

"Kol Mikaelson."

"Enzo."

"Enzo?"

"Just Enzo, mate."

"Hm, mysterious indeed," Kol glanced back over at his sister "Oh, Nik's gonna _love_ him."

Rebekah shrugged his arm off her shoulders and he laughed heartily to himself.

"Well if you two lovebirds will excuse me, I've got an errand to run. See you at the party."

Kol left with a still mischievous grin on his face, shaking his head as if in anticipation of the night to come.

"So that's Kol," Enzo smirked.

"Hard to believe I fought so hard to bring him back from the dead when he behaves like that, isn't it?" Rebekah sighed.

"Rebekah."

Round Two.

She turned to see Elijah standing across the room from her. She walked to meet him and they hugged briefly, before he pulled back and ran his hand along her hair.

"You cut it."

"You hate it?" she furrowed her brow with worry.

"No, it looks lovely," he assured her "I just haven't seen your hair so short...not since we were children."

He planted a kiss on her forehead and then looked passed her at the other guest in the room.

"I'm sorry, where are my manners?" Elijah walked toward Enzo.

Rebekah knew that tone. The tone where he remained civil and polite but deep down was analyzing his opponent for every flaw, every weakness.

"Elijah Mikaelson," he extended his hand.

"I'm Enzo," Enzo shook it, more firmly than he had Kol's hand.

"Enzo, Italian I suppose?"

"Yes but I spent most of my time in England," Enzo responded.

"Beautiful country, we haven't been there in years, have we Rebekah?"

She joined him and shook her head softly.

"Lorenzo is my friend, Elijah," Rebekah began "We met a few months back. He doesn't have any family and I thought he might enjoy coming to New Orleans."

"Yes indeed, we do have a lovely city," Elijah's eyes never left him "You should see all that it has to offer while you are here."

He turned back to Rebekah.

"How long will you be staying, sister?"

"Oh, just a few days," she answered quickly, her eyes finding Enzo's.

"Well, we shall have to make the most of this visit," Elijah smiled "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some last minute items to pick up before the party tonight."

He kissed Rebekah's cheek.

"Pleasure to have met you, Lorenzo."

"Likewise, mate."

Rebekah cringed at the informality Enzo put into that statement as she watched Elijah walk out the door.

"How am I doing so far?" Enzo grinned at her.

"_Don't_ call Elijah mate," she sighed, dropping down onto one of the swings that was extended from the ceiling "Elijah values formality and manners."

"Ah yes," he sat down on the swing beside her "The _honorable _brother."

She could see a sense of amusement on his lips and it annoyed her. She knew that her brother had his problems. The whole red door had sent him into quite a spiral but he was still every bit the noble brother she knew him to be. Fair, kind, decent.

"He _is_ honorable," she bit back at him "Do not speak of Elijah that way."

Enzo realized he had offended her and he felt a rush of guilt. Something he wasn't entirely used to feeling.

"I'm sorry," he gripped the rope that held the swing in place "You're right. I promise, best behavior. Scout's honor and all that."

"Were you a scout?" she raised an eyebrow at him.

"Of course not," he laughed.

She smiled softly at him and he knew he was forgiven as she began to swing back and forth slowly, like a child. He watched her for a moment, she was almost giddy.

"Nik had no hand in this," she laughed, looking around as she swayed back and forth.

"And you know who did?"

"I can guess. There's a human girl in the city. She's a student, a bartender and Niklaus is positively smitten with her. It wouldn't take much to convince her that his troubled soul needed help creating a beautiful fairytale land for his daughter's birthday."

"You speak as though you don't like her," Enzo observed, trying his best to keep up with her swings.

"She's allright I suppose," Rebekah shrugged "She's kind of plain and boring and..."

"Human?"

"Human can be beautiful, depending on who the human is," she smiled softly, fondly remembering Matt Donovan and momentarily wondering if he was still alive.

Perhaps one day she would asked Lorenzo of his fate, but not today.

"I've often wondered what I would have done if I could go back, be human," Enzo thought aloud.

"And?"

"I don't think I bloody would. I rather like my abilities...I'm not fragile..."

Enzo trailed off in thought and Rebekah felt the great sadness from him again.

She finally let the swing come to a stop and let out a sigh.

"I have to go see Nik," she stood up.

"I supposed you would rather I wait here?"

"Yes," she nodded "Although I imagine Kol will be back in no time. He should keep you entertained."

"Or gut me like a fish," Enzo responded playfully.

Rebekah chose to ignore the remark and started up the staircase. She knew her brother was aware of her presence. Why had he chosen to remain upstairs? She reached his study and saw him standing by the hearth, a glass of some sort of whiskey in hand.

"Sister," he spoke, with his back still turned to her "You're home."

"I would never miss Hope's birthday. Where is she?"

"She's taking her nap. She'll be up soon. I'm sure she will be delighted to see you," he finally turned around.

He looked tired. Almost as if he hadn't rested in weeks, months even. The normal fire that she found in his eyes was barely smoldering beneath the surface.

"Are you feeling all right, Nik?" she asked cautiously before even realizing what she was saying.

"I'm fine," he downed the rest of his drink and then closed the distance between them.

They stared at each other for a moment. She couldn't shake the feeling she got while looking at him. He wasn't himself. He was...weak?

"What did you do to your hair?" he broke the silence.

The fire in his eyes was stoked slightly. He seemed personally hurt that she would do so such a thing without his permission.

"I cut it," she bit back firmly, hoping that a fight with her might bring some life back to him.

"I hate it," he shot back and she believed him.

"Oh, and I was so wanting your approval," she pouted playfully.

A little smile came across his lips.

"You're all dressed up. Where have you been?" he turned to pour himself another drink.

"I was in Las Vegas," she admitted.

"Sin City," he smiled over his glass "My little sister in such a den of inequity, _all alone_."

He knew.

He knew very well that Enzo was downstairs. Could that be the reason for his poor mood?

"Not alone, exactly," she sighed, reaching to pour a drink of her own.

"No?" he sat down in the chair at his desk.

"I have _friends_," she insisted, sitting across from him.

"Oh you do not!" he shot back placing his glass down on the desk, leaning up in his seat "Other than that man who is lurking downstairs in our home."

"So you know about him," she pretended to be surprised.

"I've known about him for weeks, Rebekah. I have eyes everywhere."

"You're spying on me?" she furrowed her brow with anger "How dare you do such a..."

"Our enemies are still out there, Rebekah. I agreed to let you have your freedom but there are still too many dangers..."

"What danger Niklaus? The only white oak stake was destroyed by Dahlia. Blown up into a million pieces which Freya destroyed. There is nothing out there that can hurt me!"

"Some fates are worse than death," he looked up over his folded hands "You know that as well as I."

"I'm fine, Nik. I don't need a watchman."

"Elijah agrees with me," Klaus continued "So does Kol, if his opinion on such a thing matters."

"And what of Freya?" Rebekah downed the rest of her drink "Does your other sister get such treatment?"

She was secretly wondering if Klaus was onto Frey's plan to help break the curse. She wanted Elijah to be happy and freeing Hayley was the only thing that might ease his pain.

"Freya is not like us," he insisted "She is not a weakness to me. She is not someone that could be exploited. I do not care what happens to her."

Good. Perhaps that meant that the secret was safe for now. However, she didn't believe he felt nothing for Freya. Love? Perhaps not. But he felt something toward her.

"She is still our sister. She saved our lives."

"She is _your _sister. And Elijah's. She saved our lives because in turn it saved her own. I will not claim her as my family. Let her spend a thousand years with us, then she will have earned her place at my side."

"Is that the only reason why I'm here? Because I spent a thousand years putting up with your incessant..."

"Lorenzo."

Klaus stood and looked toward the door, her eyes followed to see him standing there.

"You sent for me?" Enzo looked passed Rebekah, straight into Klaus' eyes.

Eyes which were now almost back to their full fire.

Klaus closed the distance between the two men and folded his hands behind his back, eyeing Enzo up and down carefully. He rocked back on his heels and kept a steady smirk on his lips.

"So you are the one who has been spending so much time with my little sister," he finally spoke.

Rebekah wished there was a hole in the middle of the floor to crawl into. She stood until she was standing halfway between them.

"I find your sister to be an amazing woman," Enzo continued, calm and steady.

Enzo extended his hand to which Klaus looked down at and chuckled, before backing up slightly.

"I must say," Enzo continued "I am honored to make the acquaintance of Niklaus Mikaelson. Your reputation proceeds you."

"Of course it does," Klaus sat back down at his desk "Everything you have heard may be true but I assure you Lorenzo, it is far worse than anything you have thought or heard about me."

Rebekah closed her eyes tightly and let out a sigh of annoyance.

"Must you do this!" she spat at her brother.

"Do what, sister? Your friend and I are having a lovely chat."

"You don't _chat_, Nik," she rolled her eyes.

"Will you be staying for the festivities tonight, Lorenzo?"

"Only if Rebekah wants me to," Enzo looked over at her, and she couldn't help it as a little smile came over her lips.

The exchange did not go unnoticed by Klaus, who felt disgust rising up in his own throat.

"Very well then. Anna will show you to your room for the night."

On cue, the girl who opened the door earlier was standing there and beckoned Enzo to follow her. He cast one last smile at Rebekah before following her out.

"Well that went well," she looked over at Klaus.

He laughed, as he poured yet another drink.

"I hope you were not planning on wearing that ridiculous get up tonight," he acknowledged her outfit.

"And what if I was?" she turned to him, her hands on her hips.

"There's a dress in your room. I picked it out especially for tonight."

"Why?" she furrowed her brow in confusion.

"Because tonight dear sister," he stood until she was arms length from him "I plan to christen you Hope's official Godmother."

Rebekah was taken aback. On one hand, it was a shame to be handing out such titles when the little girl's mother was cowering in the bayou. On the other, it was an honor being bestowed upon her that she had to admit was touching and powerful in it's own right. She might never have the pleasure of being a mother, but a Godmother was as close as she could get. Nik knew that.

"Godmother?" she whispered, before her eyes met his.

They looked tired again, most of the fire had gone. He placed his hands on her shoulders and smiled at her.

"I told you before Rebekah, there is no one I trust more with my daughter's life. It is the same today as it was a year ago."

Before she knew what she was doing, she wrapped her arms around him tightly. He returned the hug, although not as firm as she did. When she pulled away, he saw a few stray tears in the corners of her eyes.

"Now, go get dressed. My daughter will be up soon and she will want to see you."

She nodded and turned to go.

"Oh and Rebekah, tonight is about Hope _and _about you but tomorrow...we will discuss this Lorenzo problem."


	6. Chapter 6

**Even though this IS a Rebekah/Enzo romance, it will still be heavy on the Klebekah because I can't help myself. You've been warned. ;)**

* * *

Rebekah walked into her bedroom to find it almost exactly as she left it. The curtains were open, allowing light to stream in as the sun was beginning to set. In the middle of her bed, was a dress bag and a shoe box.

Sitting on top of the box, was an envelope with her name scrawled in handwriting she recognized as Klaus' calligraphy.

_Rebekah,_

_Godmothers should always dress as magnificently as they do in fairy tales._

_Nik_

She shook her head as she unzipped the bag to reveal the garment underneath. It was a gorgeous soft and flowly fabric, a light ivory color with capped sleeves and golden threads weaved throughout it.

The shoes were gold to match. She recognized the label on the box lid as an exclusive brand.

She dressed and stood before the mirror. Why did she feel so nervous? She still couldn't shake the odd look in Klaus' eyes and his demeanor. Not to mention, she was already dreading having to defend Enzo to hell and back tomorrow. He was the first good thing in her life in a while and she would not let Nik spoil it.

"Well don't you look stunning?"

She recognized the voice coming from behind her and her eyes widened.

Damn it.

"Marcel," she turned "You startled me."

"And you still take my breath away," he walked closer to her.

They had left each other on good terms. Great terms she supposed. He had kissed her goodbye but once again, as always, he never offered to go with her. As much as she cared for Marcel, she could no longer pretend that he was enough. She would be a liar to say she never thought of the house plans he drew up for her or the life she had wanted with him, but she knew now it was impossible. He would always have a place in the her heart but she would no longer allow him to own it.

"Marcel, I," she moved backwards ever so slightly, afraid that he might try to wrap his arms around her and even more afraid that she might let him.

"What?" he furrowed his brow "Not happy to see me?"

"No, no I am, it's just that..."

"Well isn't this...awkward to say the least."

They both turned to find Klaus standing in the doorway. A pleased smirk on his lips. He was going to have a little fun with them.

"Awkward?" Marcel glanced between them confused.

"Oh yes, very," Klaus moved into the room "You see my darling sister has brought a date to Hope's birthday celebration. Rather charming, bloke. I hope that doesn't upset you Marcellus."

Rebekah closed her eyes tightly and then opened them just as fast so she could gauge Marcel's reaction. He glanced back over at her and she could tell he was trying to keep his face composed.

"A date?...Good for you," he nodded, then moved toward the door "See you two at the party."

Klaus watched him go, visibly pleased that he could ward off Marcel so easily. Although he had long ago forgiven them both, he would never feel comfortable seeing them openly show displays of affection for one another. Rebekah was never Marcel's to take, that he had always made clear. Even when he had agreed to allow their relationship, it was only because of his fear of losing them. Rebekah mostly.

"Tucking his tail between his legs and scurrying out the door," Klaus grinned satisfied.

"Can't you keep your bloody mouth shut!" Rebekah spat at him, after Marcel closed the door behind him.

"What?" Klaus raised a playful eyebrow "I was simply telling the truth. I'm trying to be more honest."

"Are you now?" she crossed her arms across her chest with amusement "Next you'll be telling me you're being considered for sainthood by the church."

He let out a hearty laugh and it made her feel a little better to see him more relaxed than earlier, despite the fact that he had created yet another problem for her to sort out later.

"Thank you for the dress," she turned back to the mirror to look at her reflection "It's beautiful."

"It would have looked better on you if you hadn't gone and cut your bloody hair up to your chin," Klaus sat on the edge of her bed and she could see his disapproval in the reflection.

"That's not all I did," she reached down and raised her dress so he could see her ankle.

Just above the strap of her ridiculously expensive gold stiletto were three words in delicate script inked onto her fair skin.

"Always..." Klaus began.

"And forever," she finished for him "I realized that no matter where I go, what I do, I will always and forever be tied to that promise. Might as well brand myself with it for all of eternity."

"Who do you think you're fooling, Rebekah?" he stood so that he was beside her in front of the mirror.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she rolled her eyes as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"You miss this family, you miss your home."

"Hardly," she moved away from him to grab a pair of earrings on the dresser "I was feeling adventurous...and nostalgic. That _is _all."

"Hm," Klaus circled her for a moment, before sitting back down on the bed.

"Lorenzo is a good man, Nik," she said after a long silence as she applied some eye shadow"I know you think I have horrid taste in men but you might be surprised by this one."

"Perhaps I should have betrothed you years ago to a man of my choosing," he offered up "Then we wouldn't have to go through this endless parade of peasants and stable boys and waiters and...What _does _this one do anyway?"

Rebekah leaned toward the mirror, opened a tube of pink lip stick and let out an exasperated sigh.

"If you were to have chosen whom my hand was promised to, I would still be as I am now. Unmarried."

"Father would have had you married off at fourteen if not for Elijah's protests," Klaus reminded her.

A boy in the village, an excellent marksman and a few years older than her, she remembered him well. He had honey colored hair and dark gray eyes. His father had met with Mikael on several occasions to discuss an arrangement. The boy had seemed all too eager. Rebekah was, after all, the most beautiful girl in the village. Klaus had wanted to protest himself but fearing Mikael's rage he allowed Elijah to do the speaking for them. He had somehow managed to dissuade their father.

Rebekah had feared the boy. He had no life to him, no joy. She cried every night, afraid he would come for her. They would often comfort her.

The man was not fit for their sister and Elijah made sure to protect her. Although the siblings had no idea how Elijah had managed to stop the betrothal, even after all these years.

"Never the less, we will discuss this at length tomorrow," Klaus finally stood to go.

"Might I remind you, this is _my_ life. The life you freely told me to go live," she turned to him.

"You _do _look like something from a fairy tale," he marveled at her for a moment, humor dancing across his lips as he changed the subject; she knew he meant the compliment none the less.

"The party starts in twenty minutes," Klaus headed toward the door "Do try to make sure that Lorenzo behaves himself, will you? I'd hate to have to off your date before we cut the birthday cake."

* * *

Rebekah headed down the corridor minutes later, fidgeting with the low neckline of her dress and trying desperately to sort her thoughts. Lorenzo. Marcel. Nik. Elijah. Kol. She had her hands full. Not to mention she would get to see her sweet niece.

Poor Hayley. Her heart truly did ache for the wolf girl. They had become friends. She had welcomed Hayley into her family and now Klaus treated her as nothing but a stranger. Less than that. An enemy. She made a mental note to make sure she met with Freya before she left town. She didn't care if Klaus liked it or not.

"Watch where you're going sister," Kol's voice pulled her from her thoughts as she crashed into him and he braced her shoulders between his hands firmly.

"Move, Kol," she sighed.

He continued to block her path.

"Are you dreading this drivel tonight as much as I am?" he rolled his eyes, finally letting her go.

She crossed her arms across her chest and glared at him. She wanted to get to Lorenzo. She wanted to cuddle her niece and wish her happy birthday.

"This Enzo, Lorenzo...whatever his bloody name is," Kol turned to straighten his bow tie in a mirror in the hallway "I feel like I've met him before."

"You do?"

Rebekah was aching to know more about Lorenzo's past. She didn't know how long he had been a vampire, where he had lived, she literally knew nothing other than he had spent time in Mystic Falls.

"Can't quite place him," Kol turned back to her "Probably some nobody..."

Rebekah looked at him smugly. Two could play this game.

"And who is your date for this evening? Don't tell me you've gotten Davina Claire to accept an invitation from you?"

Davina had been less than pleased when Kol returned in his vampire body. Since she had accepted the role as regent of the witches, dealings with vampires were forbidden. She insisted that her feelings had changed. She said Kol had gone back to his violent, wicked ways and she wanted no part of it. Elijah had told Rebekah that Kol still longed to earn her trust but she constantly turned him away when he tried to visit.

Kol's face fell and she saw the fire in his eyes. She had rather enjoyed the sweet, more sensitive Kol she had gotten to know when he was in Kaleb's body but this Kol she knew better. She knew him very well.

"Davina Claire is none of your concern, Bex."

"Lorenzo is none of yours."

"I'd be careful what I said sister, I'm not in a good mood having to go to this ridiculous party and I just might have a little fun with_ your_ date."

Rebekah gritted her teeth and stepped closer to her brother.

"If you touch one hair on his head Kol, you will regret it. Not to mention this is Hope's birthday. Don't ruin it by acting like a barbarian."

Even though their bond had been strengthened with his resurrection, she was not going to let Kol of all people get in the way of her new relationship or ruin their niece's night.

"You know, you do look stunning in that dress," Kol smiled smugly at her, his lips pressed together "I do hope you're able to keep it in pristine condition tonight."

"What are you talking about?" she was growing even more annoyed by the minute.

"Nothing, its just this is a Mikaelson party. And you know what they say about this family?"

"Kol," she sighed, done with his games.

"What's a party without a little fun? _I _promise to leave everyone breathing." Kol winked at her before leaving her alone in the corridor.

She sighed and leaned against the wall, resting her head in her hands. What was he hinting at? What could possibly happen at a one year old's birthday party? Mikaelson or no? His words and Klaus' demeanor coupled together caused a knot to form in her gut.

This was precisely why she needed her freedom. This was exactly why she only came home on rare occasions. This family drove her mad beyond any distraction. A tattoo on her ankle and a weekly phone call were the only connections she needed to them when there wasn't a crisis involved.

"Your brother is right, you _are_ stunning."

She looked up to see Lorenzo. He was dressed in one of the suits she had bought him in Vegas. Her favorite one. It was gray and fit in all the right places. He looked absolutely handsome. She had longed to see him ever since Anna had spirited him away. She was glad to see he was still in one piece.

"Am I?" she smiled sweetly at him, trying to push all of the drama from her mind.

He walked toward her and cupped her face with one of his hands, rubbing his thumb along her cheek bone.

"I have never seen someone so beautiful."

Rebekah desperately wanted him to kiss her then. They had waited long enough. If she were to get through this night, it might be just the push she needed. He pulled his hand away though and offered her his arm instead.

"I would be honored to escort you..._downstairs_," he finished with a playful smile.

She looped her arm through his and the two of them made their way down the staircase, descending into the fairy land below.

She hoped Kol's words didn't ring true tonight but she couldn't quite shake the fact that something was amiss in the Mikaelson home.


	7. Chapter 7

Rebekah squeezed the crook of Enzo's elbow as they reached the bottom of the staircase. A large crowd had already gathered to celebrate the princess of New Orleans' first birthday.

Anna greeted them and offered Rebekah a flower crown to go on her head. It was filled with beautiful white flowers, golden wire intertwined with them. She noted that a lot of the guests had similar headpieces, although none as fine and delicate as hers. She assumed they were to continue on with the fairyland/fairytale theme.

Music already filled the room. An orchestra was set up near the main hall and guests were starting to dance in the left side of the courtyard. She recognized the piece they were playing. One of Nik's favorites. He would often play it on the piano late at night when they lived in New Orleans years ago. Usually after a night of drinking and partying left him empty. Sometimes she would sit on the staircase and listen to it. It was so sad, sweet but sad. It was a reminder to her that he brother did still have his soft side. The good had not gone when the bad had taken over her brother's life; sometimes she forgot that. She was sure he knew that she would listen but he never said a word to her. Perhaps he enjoyed the company in the darkness. Perhaps he had felt less alone.

The chandeliers in the ceiling were dimmed to a soft glow. Twinkle lights helped light the rest of the room, bouncing and shimmering from every tree and ledge.

She noted a large table, overflowing with gifts for Hope and another table with a six tier pink and white cake decorated with more white flowers. Camille again, she thought. She could picture the young woman taste testing flavors and picking the perfect design. She couldn't really fault her though. Cami had done an amazing job and she would tell her so if she put in an appearance tonight.

"Rebekah," Elijah approached her and pulled her from her thoughts.

He was dressed in one his best suits, his eyes brimming with joy. Elijah prided himself on being able to unite their family. A birthday party, no matter how trivial it might be, was a milestone. Although she did imagine he hurt for Hayley. This was a milestone a mother should be there to see in person. Not a story to be recounted to her on the next full moon in the depths of the bayou.

He stood back and admired Rebekah's dress, lightly holding the hand she had reached out to him in greeting. It became apparent to Enzo at that moment that the majority of the eyes in the courtyard were on his date, not that he could blame them. She was glowing in her gown. He had gathered from the stories she had told him, that she was spoiled. Now he was sure of it. Something that would normally be a turn off for him, had the opposite effect. She was spoiled as a way of keeping her quiet, at bay, controlled and that part he understood very well. Besides, if spoiling her meant keeping her looking like this, he had no objection.

"Never has there been anyone more breathtaking than my sister," Elijah looked over at Enzo drawing him from his own admiration with a hint of warning in his voice "Don't you agree Lorenzo?"

"Never," Enzo's eyes never left Rebekah; a fact which Elijah noticed.

"Do enjoy yourselves. There is a buffet set up in the other courtyard and I do believe our niece will be making her grand appearance shortly. If you'll both excuse me..."

He turned and left as quickly as he had appeared. Rebekah felt another knot in her gut. Despite that fact that Elijah seemed pleased with himself, there was such a rush to his demeanor. Just another reason to worry that something was brewing that she wasn't privy to know.

"Your brothers certainly are...protective," Enzo searched for the proper word that wouldn't offend her.

"Domineering would be more like it," she sighed "But Elijah means no harm, honestly. He is the least of your worries..."

She hated making apologies for her family but then she remembered Enzo's words to her just days before that a crazy family was better than no family at all. Her mind began to wonder again about his past and why he was so intent on keeping it from her. What had happened to his family? Was there anyone out there who cared for him as she did?

"Care to dance Miss Mikaelson?" Enzo's eyes glanced over to the party goers who were twirling around the beautifully lit dance floor.

"Do you dance as well as you play cards?" she smiled teasingly.

It wasn't that she thought Lorenzo unrefined but she hardly thought him the type to be trained in classic ballroom. He seemed the type who was good in a fight, skilled at hustling on street corners. The type who would do anything to survive. A hungry, driven man with nothing to lose.

"Care to find out?" his eyes seemed to twinkle along with the lights, as he extended his hand.

She took it carefully and she watched as he stared down at her petite hand in his rough one. He slid his thumb across the top of her knuckles.

"I would be honored," she insisted, bowing in traditional form.

"I believe the honor is all mine," he returned the bow at the waist, before placing his hand on the small of her back and spinning her onto the floor.

"You _are_ quite the dancer," Rebekah smiled after a few minutes of him taking a strong lead on the floor.

"I'm full of surprises aren't I?" he grinned playfully.

"Where did you learn to dance like this?"

His smile immediately fell and he cast a glance in the opposite direction, as if hoping to deflect the question all together.

"What?" she furrowed her brow.

"It's not exactly the type of story you tell a lady, I assure you," he grimaced, his grip on her hand tightening slightly.

"I grew up with four brothers and I have lived in some of the most barbaric times in history. Nothing you say will shock me," she assured him.

"A brothel," he answered flatly.

"Is that all?" she laughed "Well if I met them, I would thank them for teaching you so well."

He smiled but she could tell he still felt uncomfortable.

"My brothers owned a brothel once," she continued on, trying to put him at ease "In this very city. Nik always said it was just an easy way to make extra money but I'm no fool. They all frequented the place from time to time."

Suddenly, the music came to an abrupt halt and everyone's eyes turned to the top of the staircase. Niklaus stood there, with baby Hope in his arms. Rebekah immediately noted that her dress was strikingly similar to Hope's, down to the the little golden slippers on the girl's feet. Elijah stood at the bottom of the staircase, his arm raised to garner attention.

"Everyone gather around, if you please. You are all here to celebrate our extraordinary guest of honor. My niece, my brother's precious daughter Hope."

Everyone clapped feverishly as Klaus descended the stairs with his daughter held close.

"We want to thank all of you for coming and for your generous gifts," Elijah continued as Klaus made his was to the table with the birthday cake. Then, on cue, Rebekah saw Cami move toward the cake with a lighter.

Her hair was swept up at the base of her neck and she was dressed in a pale pink dress adorned with beading. She smiled sweetly at Hope, then shared a quick glance with Klaus before she lit the candle on top of the massive confection.

Someone, Rebekah wasn't sure who among the crowd, began to lead everyone in a rendition of Happy Birthday. She could see Nik's lips moving ever so slightly as he mouthed the words along with the group. As the song ended, he held Hope closer to the candle and he blew out the flame.

"Now, my brother would like to say a few words," Elijah stepped back and took a place beside Kol who was devouring the plate of food he was holding.

"One year ago, this very night my beautiful daughter had to leave my side," Klaus began as he moved to the center of the courtyard "She was in grave danger. The whole city would have seen her dead. So I placed her in the care of the only person I knew could protect her...my sister Rebekah."

All eyes turned toward Rebekah and she smiled awkwardly. Enzo glanced over at her admiringly.

Klaus hoisted Hope into one arm and motioned for Rebekah to join him. She let go of Enzo's hand and moved beside her brother.

"For centuries, my sister and I have always protected each other. Despite our differences and our quarrels, we have always found a way to make amends. On that night, we buried the hatchet yet again for the sake of my daughter and she has stood by my side ever since. My sister. The only person on whom I can rely."

The only person? Rebekah's eyes darted to Elijah, who seemed just as confused as she was by the statement.

"So tonight, I want to officially announce that Rebekah is Hope's godmother. She has proven her loyalty to my daughter and to this family. She is the one I trust most and I know she will always have my daughter's best interest at heart. Rebekah has always been a queen of this city but now she holds extra favor here. I do hope you all will show her the respect she deserves and continue to honor my daughter as you have over the last few months."

Everyone clapped but Rebekah felt uncomfortable. She looked at Elijah again who seemed to have let the statement go but it only added fuel to the knot in her gut. What was going on? As she scanned the room nervously, her eyes locked with Marcel. He was standing near the front gate. Dressed in regular attire, not his finest clothes; his leather jacket stretching across the muscles in his arms. He looked as if he were on duty. Was he running security for the party? Or was something else going on? When his eyes met hers, he held her gaze for a moment before looking away and shifting uncomfortably where he stood.

Klaus leaned over and placed a light kiss on Rebekah's cheek, then passed his daughter into her arms. She nuzzled her niece close to her and lightly kissed the top of her head. She was so beautiful. So perfect. She had missed her more than she realized. A flashbulb brought her out of her trance as she realized a photographer was taking pictures of the two of them. She smiled for the photos and she felt Klaus move over to be in a couple of the shots.

"Let the celebration continue!" Elijah alerted the orchestra who picked back up where the music left off.

Rebekah watched as she saw Kol join Marcel by the door. This was even more odd. They hated each other. Loathed the existence of the other so much that Kol had been daggered to keep them apart. Now they were exchanging small talk?

As a vampire her senses were always heightened but she felt like they were in overdrive.

"Did you mean what you said just now?" Rebekah leaned over to whisper to Klaus.

"Every word," he answered but he wasn't looking at her, he was staring at Elijah.

"Am I the _only _one you trust?"

"Enjoy the party Rebekah," Klaus pulled his daughter back into his arms after a pause"Go dance with your...Lorenzo. I have to put Hope to bed. We will speak about this later."

He moved stoically up the stairs and out of sight.

Rebekah rushed over and pulled Elijah aside.

"What is he up to?" she sighed exasperated.

"I don't know," he answered, shoving his hands in the pockets of his trousers "But I am certain before this night is over, we will find out."

"Everything all right Rebekah?" Enzo inquired when she moved passed Elijah toward him.

"No," she sighed nervously "Nik is up to something. Why would he leave Elijah out as a person he trusts?"

"This night is about you and Hope, maybe he..."

"No, it was _deliberate_," Rebekah reached up and pulled the flower crown off her head, tossing it onto a nearby table "He's up to something...Excuse me."

She left Enzo where he stood and crossed the room to the new found friends by the gate.

"Since when do you two exchange pleasantries?" she snapped when she reached Kol and Marcel.

"We're just having a conversation, Rebekah," Marcel leaned back against the wall "I thought you'd be happy that your brother and I have moved on from the past. There seems to be a lot of that going around."

His eyes found Enzo who was standing by the staircase watching them closely.

"And this just got incredibly awkward," Kol grinned "I'll leave you to it, Bex."

He patted her on the shoulder then walked away and disappeared among the crowd.

"Now is not the time to discuss my love life," she practically growled at him.

"Then when is? Huh? You leave here after being all cozied up to me for weeks and then you come back with some two bit hood."

"Hood? You don't know anything about him," she stepped closer so their faces were inches apart.

"I know that he's not good enough for you."

"And you are? A man who loves a city more than he loves a woman?"

Marcel licked the smile off his lips and his eyes dropped briefly to the floor.

"You know it's not like that," he said in a lower voice.

"Attention everyone!" Klaus' booming voice brought everything to a stand still.

He was standing at the top of the staircase, his arms stretched out by his sides. He looked angry, intense and the loving affection he had showed earlier was no longer visible at all.

Rebekah left Marcel abruptly and walked back to the stairs. She stood between Enzo and Elijah, looking up at her older brother holding her breath.

"Tonight I bestowed a great honor onto my sister as godmother to my daughter. But you might be asking yourselves, what about a godfather? Doesn't a child need both?"

Rebekah could sense Elijah tensing beside her, as Klaus began to walk down the stairs.

"A child needs only those who have their best interest at heart. Only those who are worthy of such an honor. And the truth is ladies and gentlemen that up until a few days ago, I had every intention of my _honorable_..._loyal_..._brother _Elijah being the godfather to my child."

He reached the bottom of the stairs, so that he and Elijah were staring each other in the eyes.

"But then I learned that he is not loyal at all...He is the proverbial snake in the grass...And I hate snakes."

Before Rebekah knew what was happening, Klaus grabbed Elijah by the neck and threw him across the room, crashing him into one of the trees that had been brought in for the party.

Rebekah gasped and instinctively grabbed onto Enzo's arm. Enzo braced himself for what was to come and welcomed the tight grip she had on his bicep.

Klaus moved closer to Elijah as he tried to stand to his feet.

"Now brother, let's hear you try to defend yourself."


	8. Chapter 8

It was so quiet in the compound, you could hear a pin drop. All the guests stood stunned. Many of them never having been witness to a Klaus Mikaelson outburst first hand. Aside from the latest crop of vampires that the brothers had turned, the rest of the guests were esteemed members of the community, both supernatural and not. All of whom wanted to stay on Klaus' good side, at all costs. Just the way he liked it.

Cami made her way through the crowd, her mouth hanging open at the display in front of her. Elijah had become a dear friend to her as she continued to counsel him on his red door. What was causing Klaus to react this way? He had wanted every detail of this night to be perfect for his daughter. Now he was destroying it.

Kol's voice projected into the silence "I'm afraid the evening is over darlings!"

"You heard him," Marcel opened the gate "Get out. Everybody."

The party goers eagerly obliged their requests, racing toward the door and filing out quickly. Marcel sneered at the fear on their faces.

"You too Camille," Kol grabbed her by the arm, ushering her out despite her attempt to fight back.

Her eyes met Klaus' and she realized instantly that Kol had been instructed to make sure she didn't see what happened next.

"Klaus!" she shouted sternly in his direction but he broke the eye contact between them and Kol pushed her out the door.

Marcel slammed the bars behind her with a loud thud and leaned back up against the gate with a pleased smile on his lips.

"The party's just getting started," Kol whispered to him before moving closer to the action.

Now it was just family.

And Enzo.

"Elijah," Rebekah gasped, rushing over to her brother and running her hand along the large gash on his forehead as she tried to pull him to his feet.

"Rebekah, stand back," Klaus ordered firmly.

"No!" she looked at him fiercely.

"Do as he says, sister," Elijah gasped, finally standing and beginning to loosen his tie "This is none of your concern."

"_You are_ my concern. You _both _are!" Rebekah growled as she stood between them "What in the bloody hell is going on?"

"Ask our noble brother, ask him what he has been doing behind my back. The lies, the betrayal he has been carrying on for months. Did you honestly think Elijah that I wouldn't figure it out? Have you not learned by now that I always win?" Klaus' eyes were blazing.

"You have destroyed that woman's life!" Elijah spat back as he removed his suite jacket "She is the mother of that child sleeping so peacefully upstairs! She is missing every milestone. Every moment that ticks by is time lost with her daughter! She lies helpless in that bayou, the _mother _of _your_ child! The woman who died to protect her! She has done nothing since the day Hope was born but try to keep her safe as she sees fit."

Hayley. This was about Hayley. Klaus had learned of Freya and Elijah's continued diligence in reversing the curse and freeing her from her confinement. Klaus hated Hayley for trying to take Hope from him. Elijah was conspiring with the enemy in his eyes.

"She is no longer her mother!" Klaus bellowed "She lost that privilege the moment she tried to steal my daughter from me. A mother does not rip her family apart...She is no better than Esther."

"Our mother was a cold, calculating monster...Hayley is far from that. She is warm and loving to that child. She wants nothing but the best for her."

"Enough!...With the dramatics Elijah," Klaus all but laughed at him "Your attempts at excusing her behavior are downright pathetic. Wouldn't you say they're pathetic, Kol?"

"Pathetic," Kol stood next to his brother with a smug smile on his thin lips.

Rebekah glared at him and he winked at her. He was enjoying this. Being on the other end of a tongue lashing from Niklaus.

"Is that why you brought Rebekah up here tonight? Is your intention to make Rebekah Hope's mother?" Elijah inquired, as he methodically rolled up his sleeves.

Rebekah's eyes fell to the floor in realization. Nik wanted her to stay here, mother his child, raise her like he originally planned before she left town. She turned her eyes up to him in amazement. She wanted to cry. What she thought was a touching tribute was nothing more than a way to slap Elijah metaphorically in the face.

Klaus dodged her stare and instead stared Elijah down with even more furosity.

"How could you do this?" Rebekah managed to get out, although it was barely above a whisper.

"Kol, take Rebekah and her date upstairs," Klaus ordered without taking his eyes off his enraged brother "It has been a long night and I'm sure they would like their rest. Separate rooms,_ of course_."

"No, I'm not leaving him here with you!" Rebekah stood in front of him, her eyes matching his fire.

"Sister, leave," Elijah insisted.

Rebekah looked back at him and Elijah managed an assuring nod at her, as blood ran down the side of his head from his wound that was slowly healing.

"Rebekah," Enzo reached his hand out and grabbed hers, pulling her from between her brothers.

Klaus' eyes dropped to their connected hands and he forced himself to avoid it and focus on the task at hand. Dismantling Elijah.

"No!" Rebekah argued with Enzo "I can't leave them here. They'll rip each other apart!"

"You and I both know they can't kill each other," Kol grabbed her by the other arm "Let them have at it."

"You knew!" she jerked her arm from him "You knew this was going to happen and you never said anything!"

"And you!" she turned to shout at Marcel from across the courtyard "Nik killed Gia! Burned her to ashes! And you're here trapping Elijah!...What has happened to all of you?"

Marcel licked the smirk off his lips and folded his arms across his chest. He seemed just as resigned as Klaus.

"Elijah betrayed us Bex. He is putting our niece in danger. He deserves what he's going to get," Kol insisted.

"You don't believe that!..." she stared around the room at everyone who had turned on her noble brother, all of whom avoided her eyes before she settled back on Kol, "You're just as bad as Nik," she bit at him, gripping Enzo's hand even tighter and rushing up the staircase and out of sight.

* * *

"Kol's just happy he's not on the receiving end of Nik's wrath!" Rebekah spat as she paced back and forth across her bedroom floor "He doesn't care about Hayley! He hasn't been betrayed by anyone! And Marcel, standing there with that smug look on his face. I guess he sees this as the perfect opportunity to garner favor with my brother never mind the fact that he murdered one who his dearest friends mere months ago."

"You need to sit down love," Enzo sighed, from his position on the bed, his arms folded behind his head and his legs stretched out.

He had been watching and listening to her for several minutes now.

"You need to get out of here," she turned toward him, as if she realized for the first time that he was in the room "You need to get as far away from my family as possible."

"Not a chance," he shook his head, sliding off the bed and standing to his feet.

"You _don't_ understand. Nik is starting a war and it's going to get ugly, fast. My brothers are nothing if not smart and cunning and methodical. You are an easy target for Nik if I don't cooperate. Please Lorenzo."

"You know, the way you say my name," he smiled, raising his hand to caress her face "It's as if you know me."

"I don't know you at all," she shook her head slowly with exasperation "All I know is that you are a good man and I couldn't bare it if you were hurt because of me."

"Why don't you let me worry about that? Hm?" he traced her cheek bone with his thumb and then brought his hand around the side of her head, pulling her closer to him, lacing his fingers through the hair at the nape of her neck.

"The first night I met you, you said you weren't a damsel in distress. Yet here you are Miss Mikaelson, needing my help."

"You said you were a good boy," she replied hoarsely, their lips now mere centimeters apart.

"I'm not, far from it."

"Are we both liars then?" she whispered.

He ran his thumb along her bottom lip and used the other hand still holding her head to pull her to him. Their lips finally met after what seemed like an eternity to Rebekah. It must have been the fear and anxiety that caused her to attack his mouth with far more force than she had ever intended. She needed him in that moment. She needed the distraction, the comfort, all of it. He returned her kisses just as passionately, until their lips finally broke apart, both of them gasping for air.

"You must run," she began again, her hands now caressing his cheeks "Please."

"Where would I go?" he raised an eyebrow "I have no home. No family. I don't belong anywhere."

"Belonging here will get you killed," she shook her head regretfully "_My_ family will get you killed. We are cursed. All of us. The majority of the people I have ever brought into my life have ended up dead. Most of them at Nik's hands."

"I'm staying," he took her face between his hands "You cannot convince me otherwise."

Rebekah let out a sigh of defeat and pressed her forehead against his.

"Then we'll go together. We'll both leave," she said hoarsely "I will not be dragged into the middle of all this. I will not be forced to choose sides again."

"Klaus will find us," Enzo pulled away from her with a worried expression.

"He'll be too distracted with Elijah," she shook her head anxiously "If we leave now, we can..."

"You're not leaving little sister."

They both turned to find Klaus standing in the doorway. His face streaked with blood, his eyes glowing.

"What did you do to Elijah?" she asked weakly, holding her breath.

"I merely taught him a lesson. Sent him crawling out of here and off to some sewer where he belongs."

"You bit him! Didn't you?" she regained some strength, rushing him.

He caught her and held her at arms length as a smile came across his red stained lips.

"He will heal, in time, as you know."

"Why must you torture him?" she narrowed her eyes.

"Torture him?" Klaus dropped his hands from her shoulders "What about what he has done to me? My older brother...siding with that slut over me."

Rebekah couldn't resist any longer. She raised her hand and slapped his face as hard as she could on instinct. He flinched slightly from the blow, running his hand along the side of his face.

"Because you have had a long day, I will choose to ignore your behavior Rebekah. But if you think for a moment that you or your companion here are going anywhere, you are sadly mistaken."

"You want me to side with you? Take down Elijah and Hayley? I won't do it, Nik. I won't choose sides."

"You will stay here and take care of my daughter for now," he informed her "When I need you, I will send for you."

Tears were now streaming down Rebekah's face. Why did her family have to hurt so much? Why couldn't they just be happy? Why couldn't Nik let them be happy?

"I believe you're in the wrong room, mate," he acknowledged Enzo, who had been taking everything in.

"I'm here because Rebekah asked me to be," he stared Klaus straight in the eyes.

"Well in that case...get out," Klaus spat, his eyes beginning to glow again.

Enzo stepped forward, as if he were going to challenge him and Rebekah felt her stomach fall to the floor. Klaus smiled with amusement at the guts of her latest conquest but she reached out her arm and held Enzo back behind her before he could get to close.

"Go, please!" Rebekah insisted, never taking her eyes off Klaus.

Enzo gauged them both carefully, finally walking out with caution and casting one final glance at Rebekah.

"Leave him be, Nik," she sighed "Please."

"I will, as long as he follows my rules," Klaus smirked.

"Where is Elijah now?" she tried to change the subject.

"I don't know," he shrugged "Perhaps he's in that hovel he bought across the river, perhaps he's in the bayou tracking down his lady love or maybe he's lying on a street corner dazed and confused..."

Rebekah closed her eyes, tears slowly sliding down her cheeks.

"Do try to get some rest, sister. We have work to do tomorrow."

And with that, Klaus was gone.

* * *

I will be out of town for 10 days so hopefully there will be an update in a few weeks. Just FYI. Thank you to all who have reviewed. I really can't wait to get to the next few chapters. Some good stuff ahead. :) Please review!


	9. Chapter 9

Rebekah fought an inner battle with herself for hours. Should she disobey Klaus' demands and go out to look for Elijah? He could be anywhere in the middle of the night. She doubted he would go anywhere he knew Klaus would look for him, if he still had enough of his right mind. She wiped away tear after tear as she tossed and turned in bed. She couldn't afford to make Klaus angry with her now that Enzo was in the picture. She wouldn't be to blame for the death of another innocent man. There had to be a way to save Elijah and protect Enzo...

* * *

Rebekah awoke to screaming.

Hope screaming.

She glanced at the giant clock on the wall and sighed when she saw it was 3:30 am. She slid out of bed and wrapped a silky robe around her night gown. She padded down the hallway in the direction of her niece's room.

"Please go to sleep," she heard the whispered begging of her brother "Close your eyes."

She reached the partially open door of the nursery and pushed it. Klaus was cradling Hope in his arms, slowly rocking her back and forth as he stood in front of the window.

"You want me to try?" she asked in exasperation.

He turned slowly around, still bouncing the screaming child.

"As if you could do any better," he challenged her with a raised eyebrow.

She walked toward him and took the child into her arms.

"There, there, it's all right my love," she whispered softly, running her hand through the child's fine hair.

Slowly but surely the screams began to subside and Klaus watched in amazement, along with a little bit of pride. He was right to entrust his daughter with his sister. She was a natural. In fact, he was giving Rebekah everything she ever wanted. She should be thanking him.

"She's asleep," Rebekah sighed after a few more minutes, walking over and sitting down in the rocking chair near the window "I'll sit with her a while."

"So will I," Klaus took another seat in the room and leaned back with his arms folded across his chest.

"I'd rather sit with her alone if you don't mind," Rebekah looked down her nose at him.

"Are you still cross with me over that silly bite?" he shook his head "Rebekah, you know as well as I, in a few days our brother will be as good as new."

She tried to remain calm and keep her voice at an even kilter so as not to awaken her niece but it was difficult.

"You know everything Elijah has been through. Discovering the truth about Tatia, the truth about all the deaths he has caused, his mind cannot handle those hallucinations. They will haunt him long after the venom wears off."

"No less than he deserves after what he has done to me."

"You don't truly believe that," she stared him straight in the eyes "A year ago you would have seen me dead for my betrayal and look at us now" she motioned around the spotless nursery "..You have me _mothering_ your child."

"That was different," Klaus pointed a sharp finger at her "You betrayed me, yes, but that was long before I had a daughter. Up until Hope was born, _you_ were the one I protected, for centuries I wanted nothing but our happiness. You betrayed my trust and put _our _lives in danger _but _Elijah is putting _my daughter's life_ at stake, _my future _with my daughter at stake and I will not stand for it."

"You will forgive him, just as you forgave me...Just as we have both forgiven you countless times over the last thousand years. Our sins are not different than yours," she replied sternly, softly rubbing Hope's back "But at what cost? What if Elijah is not the same as he once was?"

Klaus was going to argue that statement but the fire in his little sister's eyes made him only lick the smirk off his lips and readjust his position in his chair uncomfortably. She kept a stern eye on him and when she realized he was ceasing to engage in the argument she decided she was too tired to continue bating him.

Rebekah cast her gaze back to the baby in her arms and began to hum softly to the child, just as she used to all those months ago.

"Did you get your white picket fence?" Klaus asked her after a few minutes.

"What?"

"Your home with Hope, was it what you imagined?"

"It was lovely," she smiled "We enjoyed it, didn't we my love?...It was a colonial and I made sure it had a white fence."

"What was it like? Being at peace with her? Being able to enjoy every moment without fear?" Klaus leaned up closer, his face now serious and somewhat sad.

She felt an ache of pain for him in her heart. Since the moment Hope was born, Klaus truly didn't know what it was like to just simply be a father. She leaned up in the rocking chair and smiled softly at him, allowing her anger to subside for a moment.

"It was amazing," she admitted "We went wherever we liked. She loves the park, the swings are her favorite."

Klaus laughed softly, a light flickering in his eyes she hadn't seen in far too long.

"You know, she went to sleep every night with the wooden knight on her pillow. It was her favorite toy," she looked up at him from under her long eyelashes, memories flooding her mind.

The baby shifted softly in her arms, her head resting comfortably on Rebekah's chest.

Rebekah had held onto that toy every day and night throughout her childhood. She kept it in the pocket of her dresses when she got a little older and eventually only took to sleeping with it under her pillow. When they were turned and had to flee, Klaus had made sure it was always kept in a safe place; carrying it with him from to place to place even when Rebekah was daggered. She felt another pain in her heart. The brother who had given her that toy, the only one who knew about it and how she couldn't bare to part with it, was the same one who had bit Elijah only hours before.

"It was always your favorite too, as I recall," Klaus smiled at her, unaware that her mind had already drifted back to her anger.

"Because you made it for me," she looked up at him "Back then I thought anything you touched was gold...But now...Look what you've done to Elijah."

Both of their smiles faded and there was nothing but tense silence.

"What's with all the screaming?" Kol stumbled into the room with a bottle of bourbon in his hand.

Before Rebekah had went to sleep, she could hear Kol starting a game of poker with some of the fresh crop in the courtyard. The youngest of her brothers was the best poker player she had ever seen...that was until she met Enzo.

"Shh," Rebekah spat at him and Klaus glared at him from across the room.

"Go to bed Kol, you're drunk," he stood and walked toward his brother "I need you in fine form for tomorrow."

"Why don't both of you go to bed and leave us in peace?" Rebekah sighed, as she slowly began to rock Hope who had stirred because of the noise.

Klaus pushed Kol out the doorway and cast a final glance at his sister before shutting the door behind him.

* * *

"I thought I would find you here."

Enzo's amused voice filled Rebekah's ears and caused her to wake. She was still in the rocking chair, still holding her precious niece in her arms. She jumped and quickly looked down at the little girl, happily staring up at her.

"She had some trouble sleeping last night," Rebekah stood, carrying her over to the diaper changing table "I sat with her."

She silently wondered how disheveled and drained she looked.

"You looked so natural holding that child," Enzo commented, pulling her out of her vain thoughts.

"I always wanted one of my own," Rebekah smiled softly up at him "But it was all taken from me...More than once."

Before Enzo could question that statement, they heard the door creak behind them and saw Kol step through the threshold. He looked fresh, no hangover at all.

"Morning mate," he slapped Enzo on the shoulder "Nik's expecting you for breakfast."

"We'll be there soon," Rebekah sighed, as she fished a clean diaper out of the drawer.

"Not you Bex, just your friend here," Kol winked at Enzo "You're to stay with Hope this morning."

"I don't take orders from you Kol," Rebekah turned and stared him down.

"Do you really want to do this in front of our guest?" Kol raised an eyebrow "Come on sister, let your friend out to play."

"Breakfast it is," Enzo replied defiantly "Lead the way."

"Enzo," she sighed, looking at him with pleading eyes not to go.

"I take my coffee black and I like hollandaise on my eggs," Enzo informed Kol with a stony stare, a hint of a smile curling on his lips.

"I'll let the cook know," Kol smirked, "Shall we?"

Enzo crossed the short distance between them and placed a soft kiss on Rebekah's lips. She could feel Kol seething from the doorway but she didn't care. Enzo pulled back and winked at her, before following her annoyed brother out of the room.

The reminder of what it felt like to have Enzo's lips on hers sent a shiver through her spine.

She finished changing Hope and placed her in her playpen. She sat back in the chair and rubbed her hands over her tired eyes. If Klaus was going to be preoccupied with Enzo and his ridiculous inquisition, that would give her prime opportunity to go across the river and retrieve a vial of Klaus' blood from Marcel. Granted, she would have to sneak around to get it but it was worth risking getting caught by him. Besides, Marcel would never rat her out. She had to get that blood and she had to find Elijah. Her brother would not suffer as long as she had the power to stop it, she decided. No matter what Klaus thought. She just had to make sure Enzo didn't get caught in the crossfire. She would be back before the breakfast courtroom grilling was over. She just needed to find Anna.

* * *

"Good morning, sunshine," Enzo greeted Klaus as he entered the dining room.

Klaus sat at the other end of the table and Kol took a seat beside him, rolling his eyes as he grabbed his coffee cup.

An amused and annoyed smirk played on Klaus' lips at the informality and disrespect.

"You are a guest in this home Lorenzo. I'd advise you not to antagonize me. I'm sure my sister has warned you that I don't take well to her choice in men."

"She's informed me that you like to keep her from everyone. She might as well have a bloody cage here you can lock her in at night...Your sister is a beautiful, smart woman. Don't you think she's capable of making her own decisions?" Enzo sat down, as a maid poured him his coffee.

"Oh, how little you know her then," Klaus laughed, as Kol shared his amused grin "She has the worst taste...She always seems to fall for men who are beneath her...How would you say it Kol?"

"I believe the term nowadays Nik, is _loser_," Kol smirked, taking a sip of his own coffee.

"Ah yes, _losers_," Klaus folded his hands and propped his elbows on the table "I have spent a thousand years protecting my sister from undesirables, no reason to stop now, is there?"

"I think the choice should be hers," Enzo shrugged, as he bit into a baguette on his place "This isn't the middle ages anymore mate."

"And what would you know of that?" Klaus raised an eyebrow

"Not much," Enzo shrugged "Wasn't around then. I'm not as ancient as you lot."

Kol glared at him, and gripped the fork in his hand tightly, as if ready to strike.

"Calm yourself brother," Klaus smiled at him, placing a hand on his to lower the fork to the table "I see Rebekah has chosen a comedian this time around."

"I think I liked the quarterback better," Kol sneared under his breath.

"Now Lorenzo, if we are to coexist, which I am trying to do since my sister has agreed to my demands, there are a few ground rules we must discuss."

"I don't take well to rules," Enzo shook his head over his coffee cup "Never have. Been on my own since I was thirteen."

"An orphan then?" Klaus marveled "Well that makes three of us."

Kol laughed, stabbing a piece of the steak by the eggs on his plate.

"Rule number one," Klaus' face turned more serious "If I catch you in Rebekah's bedchamber..."

"Oh bloody hell," Enzo stood up from the table, kicking his seat out from under him in a swift motion "She's not sixteen anymore! She's a grown woman. She can do as she damn well pleases, she doesn't need permission from _you_."

"Are you challenging me?" Klaus' eyes began to blaze.

"I'm challenging you to open your eyes and see that your sister doesn't need protecting. She's perfectly capable of..."

"What my sister is perfectly_ capable_ of is getting herself into dangerous situations because she follows her heart and not her head. I have been trying to drive the fact home to her for centuries that love and commitments make you weak and vulnerable and I will not see Rebekah make a fool of herself, trusting some drifter's concocted affections when I know what you really are," he growled as he stood to his feet "...You're just like all the rest Lorenzo. You want something from my family. Money, prestige, power, whatever it is that you fancy, I assure you that you will not find it here."

"I don't want a damn thing from you Klaus Mikaelson," Enzo glared at him "Except _your sister_."

Before even Kol knew what was happening, Klaus lunged across the table straight at Enzo with his eyes blazing.

* * *

Rebekah didn't sense anyone around as she approached Marcel's place. The vamps he had turned had mostly moved into the compound with Klaus, a few had scattered and left town. Marcel seemed to like living alone, although she had a feeling he spent more and more of his time at the compound himself lately.

Before leaving the compound she had compelled Anna to watch over Hope. She had instructed her if questioned by Klaus she would tell him she did not know where Rebekah went but that she had been compelled to say so. She didn't want Anna being punished or killed because of her. She wasn't so sure that would stop him though.

She began digging through drawers and cabinets, throwing things behind her in her wake. Finally, her eyes fell on a tiny safe in the back of a large wardrobe in Marcel's bedroom and a smile formed on her perfectly glossed lips.

"What is more prized to a vampire than Nik's blood?" she thought allowed and reached to pull the safe into the light of the room.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

Her shoulders slumped at the sound of Marcel's voice.

"Looks like you've got some explaining to do Rebekah, a lot of explaining."

"I could say the same for you Marcellus," she replied without turning around "Starting with why you're helping my brother destroy everything around him?"


	10. Chapter 10

**Got on a bit of a roll this morning and finished the next chapter quicker than expected. Enjoy! And please, please review! I love knowing what people think.**

* * *

Rebekah remained in the floor, her eyes still glued to the safe.

"The business dealings I have with your brother are really none of your concern, Rebekah. You've barely said more than ten words to me since you got back into town and now I find you ransacking my house?"

"Hmph," Rebekah stood to her feet and turned to glare at him "If you can call_ this_ a house."

"It is my _home_," he walked closer to her "I would think you could respect that since you lived here with me for weeks. All the while I took care of you and protected you and..."

"Oh come off it Marcel," Rebekah rolled her eyes "Yes, you were a good friend to me but what you are doing teaming up with Klaus to hurt Elijah is disgusting. Elijah has always been fair to you."

"You should have seen him the night you left town the first time," Marcel's eyes danced with anger "Threw me up against a wall and told me he would give me a pass cause you loved me, then he kicked me out of the Quarter. Out of _my home_!"

"No less than what Nik has done to you! Yet you team up with him and go after Elijah. Why? Did Nik promise you something?"

"That's between me and your brother," he pointed a warning finger at her.

"Did he promise to give you the Quarter?" she followed him as he turned to walk toward the fireplace.

Marcel scoffed at the notion, as he opened a decanter of scotch.

"Nik told me before I left that he was willing to give you the city. Surely he mentioned it to you."

"Rebekah, stay out of it," he downed a glass and slammed it onto the mantle.

"You know what I came here for," she sighed, pushing her short hair behind her ears "Please Marcel. Please let me have Nik's blood."

"Uh uh," he shook his head as he poured another "I've only got one vial left and I'm saving it for myself. Never know when I might piss your brother off."

"Please!" she felt herself start to shake with urgency and frustration "My brother is lying somewhere suffering and I need to help him."

She moved toward Marcel, her eyes starting to brim with tears that she was forcing in order to garner his sympathy. She placed a hand on his warm forearm and watched him tense under the pressure. Their eyes met and she knew she had him.

"Please Marcel," she whispered hoarsely "I will replace it. I promise you...You know I would never let you die."

"Do I?" he raised an eyebrow at her "Coming into town with some new guy wrapped around your finger...How do I know I matter at all to you anymore?"

"How could you not?" she shrugged, pulling her hand away and she watched as he seemed disappointed at the loss of her touch.

He finished his second glass and placed it down far more gently on the mantle, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and drawing in a long breath.

"Marcel, despite the...unfortunate end to our relationship, you will always hold a special place in my heart."

"There's only one problem with that Rebekah," he turned his big brown eyes up to her "You hold more than _one_, small place in my heart...You _know _what you mean to me."

"Then help me then!" she was growing frustrated "Whatever deal you have with Nik is on you but please give me what I need to save Elijah from his torment. Just walk out this door and leave me to find it on my own. Nik doesn't have to know."

He stood there, staring into her eyes, wishing things could be different and realizing if he didn't give her this one request then things would never have the chance to go back to what they were. He had risked his life for her love before, why not again?

With that, he was gone.

Rebekah rushed back to the safe, slamming it into the floor over and over again until it broke open. A single vial of blood rolled out of it and a smile formed across her lips as she snatched it up and shoved it into the pocket of her leather jacket.

Now to collect Enzo and go search for Elijah.

* * *

"Nik!" Kol shouted, trying with all his might to pull his brother off Enzo but to no avail.

The two were rolling around on the floor, fangs bared, eyes blazing. The dining room table was broken completely in two, dishes and glass were shattered all over the hardwood.

"Nik, if you kill him, Rebekah will never help us!" Kol tried to reason with him.

It was odd for him, being the reasonable, rational one. It didn't set right with him at all. After a few minutes of trying to break them apart, he finally sat down on the only chair that was left intact and poured himself another cup of coffee. What did he care what happened anyway?

"You don't deserve her!" Klaus growled as he dived toward Enzo, instead Enzo pushed him into the wall.

"It's despicable the way you treat her!" Enzo shouted, as he dodged a swing from Klaus when he rose to his feet "She's your sister, not your property!"

"You know nothing about my family or my sister," Klaus' eyes flared again and this time, Kol knew what was about to come next.

"Nik don't," Kol protested from his seat half-heartedly, as he raised his coffee cup to his lips with his signature sly fox smirk.

When Klaus stood from the rubble, Enzo lay beneath him with his hand clutching the large bite wound on his neck.

"Now you've done it," Kol sighed, standing to his feet to be by his brother's side "Go on, give him your blood."

Klaus looked at him with amazement, Enzo's blood still slicked across his lips.

"I will do no such thing, Kol," he spat "Rebekah will learn one day that she need not go looking for love in all the wrong places."

Enzo winced in pain on the floor beneath them but his anger was still visible on his tortured face.

"I'd rather die than take help from you," he spat in response.

"You see there," Klaus smiled, pointing to his defeated opponent "We finally agree on something, don't we mate? We both want to see you waste away on this dining room floor until you're nothing but bone and ash. Leaving my sister to find a much more appropriate suitor."

"If you let him die, Bex will never forgive you," Kol tried to reason with him "She'll run off and we'll never see her again...Which means no mother for Hope...Do you really want to do this brother?"

"Let him die," Klaus cast another glance down at him "I will _not _be disrespected in my own home."

Klaus swiftly kicked Enzo who tried not to wince from the impact and then walked out of the room.

Kol stood there a minute, staring down at his sister's new love in so much pain. There was nothing he could do to help him, even if he wanted to. The truth was, he thought Rebekah was better off without Enzo. However, without Rebekah's help Klaus' plan would go down in flames. Kol would not be tied down to baby feedings and diaper changes...He'd rather get stabbed with the white oak stake all over again.

Enzo groaned as he tried to stand to his feet, but fell back down again on a pile of glass shards.

"Sorry mate," Kol sighed down at him, "He's right though, you know? You're just not good enough for Bex."

He followed Klaus out of the room, leaving Enzo in a mangled heap on the floor. Liquor and wine and blood pooling all round him as he forced himself to hold back the howling moans he wanted to let escape his lips as the venom spread throughout his body.

* * *

Rebekah slid back through the window of Hope's nursery to find Anna rocking her peacefully in her chair.

"Did you get what you were looking for?" Anna inquired, as she re positioned the baby in her arms.

"Yes," Rebekah smiled confidently "I did. Any word from Klaus?"

"Haven't seen him," Anna shook her head "But I did hear some arguing downstairs. It sounded like glass breaking."

"What?" Rebekah's brow furrowed with worry, "Stay here with the baby. Remember our plan."

She darted out of the room and raced down the hallway until she ran into a another vampire at the top of the stairs. He had dark eyes and brooding features, she was sure she had heard his name in passing but couldn't remember it.

"Have you seen my brothers?"

Before he had time to respond she heard Nik and Kol's chatter as they walked into the courtyard.

"She'll never forgive you for this," Kol warned him in a sing song voice.

"She will in time. I have done much worse," Klaus reached for his jacket "Come on, we have to meet Marcel."

"And what will we do if she comes downstairs and finds him there, huh? Pretend we have no idea what in the bloody hell happened?"

"Rebekah has been warned to stay with Hope," Klaus stared him down "She will not cross me."

"As you have _never_ crossed her?" Kol bit back, before following him out the door.

When she heard the barred door lock with a crash, she bolted down the staircase and into the dining room. She immediately felt all the blood drain from her face when she saw the disaster there. Their beautiful dining hall was destroyed beyond all recognition.

"Lorenzo?" she called out.

Furniture, doors, so much covered the ground it was hard to see where she was walking. Then she heard his sputtered breathing and was by him in seconds.

"Lorenzo," she whispered hoarsely, cradling his head in her lap.

Blood was running down the side of his face, his skin was gray as the venom worked its way through his system, his eyes looked glassy.

"Rebekah," he managed to spit out, along with some blood that trickled down his chin.

She then saw his hand was clutching his neck and she took in a sharp breath before moving it aside. The bite was large, oozing and deep.

"Oh my God," she gasped.

"That...son of a...bitch left me...here...to die," Enzo gasped in between deep agonizing breaths.

Rebekah immediately stuck her hand into her jacket pocket and pulled out the vial. It had been intended for Elijah. It was to ensure his sanity and help him get well so he could help her understand what was going on, but her brother would not die from his bite. Lorenzo would.

She pulled the top off the vial with her teeth and tossed it to the side.

"Here," she brought the bottle to his lips "Drink this."

Enzo turned his head sharply.

"I'd rather die...than drink his...blood," he sputtered, coughing so hard that his whole body heaved in her arms.

"Drink it you fool!" she spat, pressing it again to his mouth.

He kept his lips tightly shut, his eyes transfixed on hers. She watched as he struggled to stay conscious, struggled to breathe, sweat pouring down his forehead.

"Please," she begged "Lorenzo, I can't do this without you. You wanted a damsel in distress, well you've got one...I need you here with me...Please."

She watched as his eyes softened and his shaking hand reached up and took the vial from her. He brought it to his mouth and dumped the contents down his throat as if it were a shot of whiskey.

She breathed a sigh of relief as she continued to cradle him in the floor. Minutes and minutes passed. She watched as slowly the color began to return to his face and his heaving stopped. The bite slowly started to disappear from his neck. He began to still in her arms to a more natural breathing and his eyes cleared up.

"I am so sorry," she sighed, running her hand over his forehead "My brothers will stop at nothing. I told you..."

Enzo finally managed to sit up with her help so that they were staring into each other's eyes.

"Your brother is mad as a march hare," he had found his voice again "But nothing will stop me from being near you."

Rebekah smiled softly, as he reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear, his hand lingering to delicately caress the side of her face with his blood streaked fingers.

"Please, don't antagonize him again," she whispered hoarsely "We are both surely going to be on his bad side once he discovers I saved you."

"That was for Elijah, wasn't it?" he motioned to the empty bottle on the floor.

"Yes but you needed it more," she responded quickly.

"You didn't have to give it to me," Enzo sighed "You've been so worried about Elijah and..."

"I gave it to you because the thought of you no longer existing in this world, just didn't set right with me," she smiled "There is so much I don't know about you Lorenzo. You can't leave me before I've discovered it all."

He grabbed her face and kissed her, devouring her mouth with more strength than someone in his condition should have. When he finally pulled away, she saw a smile on his lips that she had never seen before.

"No one has ever cared for me as you have Rebekah," he informed her "I intend to return the favor. Whatever we have to do to save Elijah and take down Klaus..."

"We only have one option left," Rebekah sighed "We have to go see my sister."


	11. Chapter 11

Rebekah and Enzo trudged through the depths of the bayou with no real sense of direction. The only thing she had to go on was a faint description that Elijah had given her shortly after Freya had been kicked out of the compound. She knew it was fairly near the crescent wolves but far enough away so she could keep her distance if need be.

Not wanting to destroy yet another pair of shoes in the mud, Rebekah had changed into a pair of Hayley's black combat boots that she found in her vacated bedroom. She had finished the outfit off with black leggings and a white t-shirt. No point in ruining her good clothes roaming through the muck of the swamp.

"Are we close?" Enzo inquired, swatting mosquitoes out of his face.

"I have no idea," she sighed exasperated "Elijah was less than precise with his description."

"Can't you call her?" he sat down on a log and ran his hand along the back of his neck wiping away sweat and dirt.

"She threw away her phone. Something about hating modern conveniences," she sat down beside him.

"Is she as crazy as the rest of them then?" he asked, half jokingly.

"In a different way," she shrugged "She only lived one year out of every century since she was a teenager. She's not entirely used to the ways of this world."

Rebekah had given him the rundown on her long lost sister on their drive to the edge of town. Yet another story she had shared with him, and still she knew so little about his background.

"Come on," she stood and reached out her hand, which he eagerly took "It will be dark soon. I don't want to face the crescent wolves without any anecdote."

"Yes, I believe I've had enough wolves' bane for one day," he replied through gritted teeth, turning to follow her.

He froze when he saw what was in front of them.

Two wolves. One larger than the other and fur as black as night. The other one was gray with piercing yellow eyes.

"Rebekah," Enzo reached out his arm, pushing her back behind him when she moved forward.

"No, no it's ok," she insisted, lightly taking his hand off her arm and walking in front of him.

She walked closer to the wolves, who didn't move a muscle as her boots cracked twigs and leaves beneath them with each step.

"Rebekah," Enzo hissed warning to her again but she ignored it.

She squatted down on the ground until she was at eye level with the gray wolf and a little smile curved on her lips.

"Hayley," she breathed a sigh of relief.

The wolf's head bucked as if to nod at her.

"Jackson," she acknowledged the black wolf who followed in suit with his mate.

"I am so sorry for what he has done to you," Rebekah shook her head "Freya and Elijah are working so hard to end this madness."

She saw Jackson stiffen at the mention of Elijah's name but it seemed to warm the heart of the gray wolf whose eyes blinked with what Rebekah thought was hope.

"We're looking for Freya," Rebekah continued, deciding not to tell Hayley of what had happened to her brother "Do you know where she lives?"

The two wolves turned and stared in the opposite direction, looking over their shoulders signaling for them to follow.

Enzo cautiously followed after Rebekah as they went deeper and deeper into the bayou.

"This must be agony for you," Rebekah sighed as she kept up step with the gray wolf "It's so unfair."

The wolf seemed to ward off her pity; typical Hayley.

"I imagine the pack will be extracing ultimate revenge on Niklaus for this," she spoke again, which caused the hair on both wolves' backs to prickle.

"Must you antagonize them," Enzo whispered, eyeing both of them carefully.

Rebekah decided he was probably right. She probably wasn't their favorite person right now either, all things considered.

Minutes passed and then the wolves stopped suddenly. It was if there was boundary line they could not cross as their paws danced along it. In the far distance Rebekah could see a worn out trail.

"Does that trail lead to her house?"

Jackson bucked his head in response.

"Thank you," she sighed, crouching down in front of them again "I promise you we will not rest until this curse is broken."

She turned her eyes to Hayley. Despite the fact she was in another form, Rebekah could sense the sadness rolling off her.

"You will be with your baby soon," she smiled "She's beautiful and she misses you terribly."

Then, she saw a tear forming in the corner of the bright yellow eye and slide down on the soft fur of her face.

"I promise you Hayley," she sighed.

She stood, motioned for Enzo to come stand beside her and they turned, leaving the wolves behind.

* * *

"How did you know it was them?" Enzo inquired as they forged their way through the brush.

"I don't know," she shrugged, "I just felt at peace. I wasn't frightened of them at all."

"It must be pure torture, what they are going through," he remarked, pushing a branch out of his way.

"I can't even imagine," she sighed.

"You do care for the girl, then?"

"Of course I do. Not only is she Hope's mother but Elijah is madly in love with her. If anything happened to Hayley...I'm not sure Elijah's sanity could survive that."

"And yet, you still defend Klaus? Despite the fact he is torturing the people you love? Not to mention he tried to kill me this morning over scones and some rather unremarkable breakfast tea."

She stopped and turned back to face him, her shoulders slumped and she ran her hand through her messy hair.

"I told you in the beginning that everything is complicated," she replied at last in a hoarse voice "I will never make excuses for what Nik does...but to condemn him the way that most of you would...I can't do that anymore. There was a time that I would, for many years I would have been grateful to never have to look into those eyes of his ever again... Maybe I've changed...Maybe I've gone just as mad as he is..." she trailed off, a look of embarrassment on her features "Nik is responsible for his own actions and must answer for them...I just don't want to be in front of the mob carrying the torch."

It was incredibly hard to explain to an outsider. She didn't expect Lorenzo to understand or accept it. What person, vampire or no, in their right mind would?

"Fair enough," Enzo sighed, running his dirty hands over his face in frustration "But don't expect me to stand beside you in his defense."

"I would never ask you to do that," she replied flatly, turning and moving forward.

She stopped suddenly there after and turned back to him.

"Don't think for a moment he is forgiven for what he has done to you. I will punish him for that myself."

A smile curved on Enzo's lips as he watched her return to her walk ahead of him. She would seek out her own brand of revenge. His mind was racing on what that might be.

After following the path for what seemed like forever, Rebekah's eyes rested on a modest shack. She noted the dream catchers and crystals hanging on the front porch and she smiled to herself.

"I think this is it," she hurried her pace and Enzo rushed to catch up.

Before she could knock on the door, it opened slowly and she saw her sister standing inside the doorway.

"Freya."

"I knew you'd come Rebekah," she smiled sweetly at her "I have missed my brave little sister."

She reached out and pulled Rebekah into a tight hug, then turned her eyes to Enzo.

"This is your new beau, I presume," she smiled with judgment at him.

Enzo shuffled nervously. He already didn't like the vibe he got from her. Her voice was monotone and her eyes seemed as if she was looking through them.

"How did you...?" Rebekah wrinkled her nose in confusion.

"I have my ways," she turned and welcomed them inside her home.

There was a couch, old and faded and a small table with two chairs. Another longer table was in the back of the room, covered with bottles and mortars and books. Rebekah imagined they were all tools she was using to try to break the curse.

"I expected you sooner," Freya walked to a door to the left of the room "I've been tending to him as best as I could, considering what Klaus has done to him."

She opened the door and Rebekah immediately saw Elijah lying on a lumpy mattress on the floor. He was covered in sweat and mumbling softly to himself. Freya had removed his dress shirt and shoes but other than that he was still in his clothes from the night before.

"Elijah!" she rushed to him, running her hand over his burning hot forehead.

"Last night he was much worse," Freya crouched down beside them "He kept calling out Hayley's name and yours...There was great fear in his voice. I gave him some herbs but I'm afraid they didn't do much good."

"Thank you for taking care of him," Rebekah smiled sincerely at her sister, catching sight of Enzo standing in the doorway.

"He _is_ my brother too," Freya reminded her, standing back to her feet.

"Please tell me you have cracked the crescent curse," Rebekah pleaded from her place on the floor.

"Not yet," Freya turned and walked over to the window that looked out over her front yard "I'm getting close though. Very close...There are other things I must attend to first before I can continue my work..._but_ there will be justice for the agony Hayley and her pack have endured at our brother's hand."

Her mind raced with what Freya had in mind for punishing him. She was so powerful. Far more powerful than even Davina, who had centuries of witches channeling through her. Davina, yet another person who was after Klaus.

_There are fates worse than death Rebekah._

Klaus' words echoed in her mind as she watched Freya's far off expression staring out the tiny window.

"Rebekah," Elijah whispered hoarsely, pulling her from her thoughts before she could press her sister further.

"I'm here Elijah," she gripped his hand tight "I'm not going to leave you until you're well, I promise."

"Rebekah, you must be careful," he tossed and turned, sweat rolling down his forehead.

"He's been hallucinating throughout the day and night," Freya sighed.

Enzo thought he detected a hint of annoyance in her voice.

The room got eerily quiet. Chimes on the porch caught a gust of wind and played a song for a brief moment, then silence again.

"Sister, run!" Elijah's eyes flew open wide and his gaze locked with hers.

The look on his face sent shivers down Rebekah's spine. The venom was so powerful. His pupils were dilated, the whites blood shot and his eyes were bulging from their sockets.

"Its ok Elijah," she whispered as she ran her hand over his matted hair, "Everything is all right. You're safe. I'm safe...Freya's magic will protect us."

Elijah continued to squirm on the mattress, his hands running up and down her arm feverishly, trying to draw her closer to him. His eyes moved from her to the ceiling to the walls. It was as if he couldn't focus on one thing.

"Niklaus is a monster," Freya folded her arms across her chest "A monster that must be stopped before he can inflict misery on anyone else."

"I second that," Enzo finally spoke, on that at least they could agree "Bloke damn near killed me this morning."

Freya's eyes turned to meet his and he felt uncomfortable, quickly looking away.

"Rebekah, run," Elijah repeated again, his eyes starting to close "Please...run...sister..."

"Let's give him his rest," Freya insisted.

Rebekah leaned down and kissed Elijah's forehead. His eyes closed with exhaustion.

"I'm not leaving you Elijah. I'm staying here with you until I can take you home. Just rest now big brother," she whispered, before following the other two out the door.

"How long will he suffer like this?" Enzo inquired.

"Days, at least," Freya sighed exasperated.

"Is he a bother to you?" Enzo raised an eyebrow, he was growing more and more uneasy around this new found sister by the minute.

"And why would you think that?" Freya poured herself a cup of tea and sat down at the table.

"You just seem to lack empathy. A trait I notice since as a vampire, I lack it as well," he smirked over his folded hands.

"Oh I have empathy Lorenzo," she propped her elbows on the table "I have empathy for those who deserve it. I have empathy for the torment my sister has suffered over the centuries at the hands of Klaus, for the pain he has inflicted upon Elijah, for the prison he has placed Hayley in...for the brother he long since forgot."

"Finn," Rebekah sighed.

"Yes," Freya stood "Finn. My brother. The brother I was ripped from all those years ago..."

Suddenly she lifted her hands and just as quickly the windows and doors locked. Rebekah felt a little gasp catch in her throat and she drifted closer to Enzo instinctively.

"What are you doing?" she shook her head in confusion.

"Oh little sister," Freya smiled "Did you honestly think I would help resurrect the brother I never knew and leave the one I loved so dearly trapped inside this necklace?"

She played with the pendant around her neck.

"What did you do?!" Rebekah shouted at her.

"Hello sister."

The two turned to find themselves face to face with Finn.

The face Rebekah had known all those years ago.

Finn Mikaelson had returned.

In his original form.

And she and Enzo were in serious trouble.

For in his hand, was the no longer destroyed white oak stake.


	12. Chapter 12

"Finn," Rebekah breathed out in shock.

She had avoided any interaction with her eldest brother when he returned and took over Vincent's body. Before that, when he was in Mystic Falls they had barely shared the same room together for more than a few minutes. In reality, she felt as distant from him as she had before his initial resurrection. Nine hundred years worth of distance.

"Sister," Finn smiled sincerely at her "It has been far to long since I have seen your face."

"Since when have you cared about my face?" she spat back, nerves twisting her gut into a pretzel.

"Freya and I both believe that you are one who can be saved," he stepped closer to her "You have always held such goodness in you Rebekah."

"Don't touch me," she backed up, her eyes tranfixed on the stake in his hands.

"If I were you, I would listen to her mate," Enzo growled.

Enzo's mind was racing. Long lost brothers coming back from the dead, crazed sisters with magical powers. What had he gotten himself into?

Finn immediately realized the object of her aggitation and held it up modestly.

"This?" he questioned "You have no reason to fear this Rebekah. It is not a threat to you. You are not it's intended victim."

"Victim?" Rebekah shook her head angrily "What are you going to do?"

"What needs to be done. What needs to be done so we can all be free."

Rebekah pressed her hands to her temples, trying to gather her thoughts and drowned everything out so she could piece together and process what was happening. Then she finally exploded, unleashing it all onto Finn.

"You hate vampirism! You have always hated what we are and yet you're trying to save me?...I suppose now that you have found your precious long lost Freya, you have decided life as a vampire isn't so bad after all, is that it..._brother_?"

"Granted you and I both know that vampirism is not my first choice, but it's far more productive than being trapped in our sister's necklace."

He and Freya shared an amused glance.

"Eventaully, I plan to transplant myself into a more suitable body but for now, this will do. I will be impossible to kill."

"Unless Nik gets his hands on that stake," she folded her arms across her chest defiantly "He'll kill you in an instant."

"He won't get his hands on it," Freya stepped closer "I will ensure Finn's safety and Niklaus' demise all at once."

"I saw that stake destroyed with my own eyes. How is this possible? All of this...?" Rebekah stammered, gripping a confused Enzo's arm.

The sister she had longed for, dreamed of, for all those years was nothing more than a backstabber and a liar. Fitting. She really was a Mikaelson.

"I found Finn's ashes before I was thrown out of our family home. I must admit I'm surprised that Klaus kept them...For security purposes only I'm sure...I gathered the ashes of the stake that night after the three of you went crawling back to the compound, leaving me behind. Klaus was so protective of the two of you, so attentive and yet, he left me there alone. To my benefit of course...After seeing what lies in the depths of our brother's twisted mind, I decided it best to not let the ashes get in the wrong hands. I wanted to ressurect the stake, for my protection. I worked on the spell for weeks."

"So all this time, you never trusted Nik?"

"Not for a second," Freya shook her head satisfied "I knew there was only one brother I could trust fully."

"And what of Elijah? He placed his trust in you to help Hayley. He lies suffering in that room all because he truly believed you were helping him."

"I _am_ helping him," Freya was growing frustrated "Destroying Klaus will free all of you from his neverending cycle of cruelty and abuse. I will then lift the curse on the crescents and we will all be able to live our lives without fear of retaliation."

"If you kill Nik, I will find you and I will destroy you," Rebekah moved toward Freya but Finn stepped in between them, the stake held down by his side.

"This is for the best," he spoke in a calm voice "You have been under his influence for so long that you can no longer think for yourself. You will see that we are right. That we are doing this so that you may live the life you always wanted."

"I have _always _been able to think for myself," Rebekah looked up into his eyes "I am the first to say that Nik makes questionable decisions and yes, he hurts the people he loves but he_ has_ good in him. He cares for his daughter, for his family and when he finds out what you have done...I _pity_ you."

"He destroyed your life!" Freya was growing infuriated "He killed lover after lover. Chance after chance for your happiness. He moved you from place to place, made you live under assumed names, daggered you to keep you quiet, controlled your every move for a thousand years and yet..."

"And yet, he means more to me than either of you _ever_ will," Rebekah bit back, before recoiling to Enzo's side again.

"You will learn in time, sister," Finn sighed "That the only members of this family who have your best interest at heart are the two of us."

"What heart? You two are planning the execution of your own brother!"

"Half brother," Freya reminded her "He is not like us. Mikael's blood does not run through his veins."

"Lucky him," Rebekah snarled "I wish I could say the same for myself."

"When it's done Rebekah, you will see the truth. You will understand that this was for the best," Freya moved toward the bedroom "You will remain here. I have placed a boundary spell on this shack. You and your friend can not leave until I release you."

"You are not taking Elijah!" Rebekah spat, racing and beating her to the door, blocking her entrance.

"He is merely my insurance, I assure you," Freya remained calm "I have no wish to harm Elijah. I have grown quite fond of him. His willingness to save the wolves, his love for you, there is much good in him."

"You are _not_ taking him from this house," Rebekah stated again.

"Oh my sweet, naive little sister," Freya reached out to run her hand along Rebekah's face but she dodged her attempt "Haven't you figured it out yet? You aren't in charge..._I am_."

Freya held up her fingers and snapped them. Rebekah and Enzo both fell to the ground, unconscious.

* * *

"This is a pleasant dinner," Marcel grumbled over his goblet of wine and blood as he sat around the broken table that Klaus had tied together with thick rope.

"Where in the bloody hell could he have gone?" Kol walked around the room shaking his head "He had minutes to live at most."

"Well obviously our sweet little sister has disposed of him," Klaus smirked as he toyed with his own wine "Probably in fear that we wouldn't lay him to rest with dignity and grace."

"She's going to kill you Nik," Kol finally sat down on one of the chairs they had brought from another room.

"Relax brother," Klaus insisted as the wait staff brought in their meal "She will bury the dead, shed a few tears, sulk in her room and that will be the end of it. You forget I have gone through this before."

"Before this you had Elijah to run interference," Kol pointed out "Not that any of us know where he is either."

"Do you always talk this much?" Marcel groaned, tossing a piece of bread into his mouth.

"Why is he here?" Kol snarled in his direction.

Before Klaus could answer, they heard a disruption in the courtyard. They barely exchanged glances before all three of them raced off at vampire speed.

"I want to see my brother! Now!" Freya pushed passed Anna.

"Ah, a traitor for dinner," Klaus sighed, jumping over the ledge and falling to the floor in front of her.

"I am no traitor," Freya shook her head "If there is a traitor here, that is you."

"Will you stop with the accusations and state your business before I reach down your throat and pull out your entrails?" Klaus responded with amusement.

"If you value the lives of our sister and brother you will listen to me without that smug look on your face," she bit at him.

The smile faded quickly at the mention of Elijah and Rebekah. Kol and Marcel joined him on the floor within a second.

"What are you talking about?" Klaus tried to show no alarm on his face despite the fact his mind was already churning.

"I have Rebekah," Freya began "You're not getting her back."

"The hell we're not," Marcel tried to charge her but Klaus held his arm up to stop him.

"I'm going to give you three seconds to explain yourself, if not I'll rip you limb from limb," Klaus answered flatly.

"If you do that, you'll never see her again," Freya smiled satisfied "She's better off without you, you know? We all are."

"Where is she?" Kol finally found his voice.

"She's safe. Safe from the agony that she has been through year after year, century after century...Being Klaus' favorite has only been a curse on our sister. To think in my time on this earth, I longed to be her... I'm happy I never knew you then."

"If you hurt Rebekah, I will murder you with my bare hands," Klaus stepped closer, his face mere inches from hers "No quick snap of the neck, no mercy. You will die a slow, agonizing _death_."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you Niklaus!"

They all turned to see Finn standing in the doorway, Elijah draped across his arms. He was still pale and covered in sweat but he seemed to be waking from his latest sleep. Stirring ever so slightly.

"How predictable this is, isn't it?" Klaus laughed in disgust "Why would I assume you would help Rebekah ressurect Kol and leave pathetic Finn trapped?"

Kol tensed beside him. It was Finn who hexed him. Finn who told him no one cared for him and he would die alone. Finn who had kept him from being what he wanted to be most, a witch. Despite the fact that they were now equally equipped to battle, he felt fear when he looked at his older brother. It had been so long that he had felt fear as a vampire. He wasn't sure that he ever had, other than when he had been staked.

"Finn is_ not_ pathetic," Freya was defiantly confident "He is good and decent and sincere..."

Klaus, Kol and Marcel all scoffed to each other at her description. She glared at them but continued on.

"He believes in my cause as much as I do. Rebekah and Elijah can be saved...Perhaps even Kol...but you Niklaus..."

"Do not speak to me as if you know me," Klaus shot back, forcing the rage that was rising in his throat back down.

"You _Klaus_ are nothing but a miserable...tyrant..._bastard_. You deserve no empathy, you deserve no joy. You will do as I say or Elijah and Rebekah will suffer."

"Why would I do that? You hold no power over me?" Klaus smirked, glancing at Marcel to his right.

"Don't I?" Freya reached into the waistband of her leather pants and pulled out the white oak stake.

Fear came over all three vampires' eyes and Freya smiled in triumph.

"You will do as I say or I will plunge this into Elijah's heart...and Rebekah will be next."

* * *

Rebekah's eyelids fluttered open as she lay on the floor. The room was stiflingly hot and she felt sweat streaked down her forehead and back. Slowly, she turned her head to the left and saw the lifeless body of Enzo a few feet from her. She managed to pull herself up on her elbows and drag herself across the splintered wood toward him. She felt as if her body was moving in slow motion. Whatever spell Freya had used was very powerful.

"Lorenzo," she whispered, shaking his shoulders roughly "Lorenzo."

He made no movement at all.

"Lorenzo!" she shook him harder, her eyes growing wide with fear and full function slowly returning to her limbs.

"Lorenzo!" she screamed again, shaking him so hard the rickety boards of the floor rattled beneath them.

"Relax Miss Mikaelson," she heard his croaky voice finally "Your knight has survived yet another attack from your insane family."

She let out a sigh of relief and dropped down onto the floor beside him. They lay there, staring at the ceiling.

"I am so sorry," she shook her head slowly "I never dreamed that all of this would happen...I _told _you to stay in Vegas. You could be at the craps table right now, raking in piles of chips and instead you are in the middle of nowhere with me in a shack that doesn't even have a proper washroom."

Enzo laughed, albeit weakly and glanced over at her. Their eyes met and he decided now was just a good a time as any to tell her his story.

"I grew up in a home without a proper washrom," he started "Floors just like this."

"In England?" she turned on her side to listen more closely.

"Yes...My parents hated me. I was their first born and I was their biggest disappointment."

"You have siblings?"

"I had a younger brother. He caught ill when he was six and died. They never got over losing their good son...I quit school when I was thirteen, started roaming the streets, playing cards, picking pockets. I never went home. I doubt they even missed me."

Rebekah watched him intently. She could hear the pain in his voice. She knew what it was like to have a parent ignore you. She had watched Nik go through it for years. None of her siblings had ever felt close to their father, least of all him.

"Then, when I was older, I got sick. Consumption. I dragged myself down by the docks, in the hopes I could get myself on a ship, see a doctor. But they wouldn't let me on...Then there was this woman, she helped me get aboard and once I was in the medical unit she revealed to me that she was a vampire...There was no hope for my recovery so she turned me...Then she left me there. All alone...On the sea, going to a country I did not know, with powers and feelings and bloodlust that I knew nothing about...I was so angry that I could have killed her."

"You had been abandoned again," Rebekah sighed.

Enzo looked over and locked his gaze with hers. Now came the hard part.

"Things got worse...I fought in the war and when I returned to America, I was taken by a University...They knew what I was and...they liked to perform experiments on me...Every day was an attempt to inflict pain more excruciating than the last...I was there for decades...Endless cycles of torture and eventually...I learned to block it out...I felt nothing for such a long time..."

"Lorenzo, please," Rebekah sat up, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes "I can not hear anymore. This world is so cruel. So viscious. And the humans call us the monsters."

"I don't tell people those stories," Enzo sat up slowly, getting his bearings "I don't want pity, do you understand me?"

"I understand," she nodded, running her hands over her face and back through her short hair.

"I haven't felt much of anything for so long," Enzo reached over and took her hand "Until you. I never felt anything in return, not like this."

Rebekah reached up and placed Enzo's hands to her lips, kissing the rough palm lightly, then running her fingers along the lines on his hand absently. Beads of sweat were still forming on both of their foreheads as the heat in the room only got more instense.

"My family is falling apart," she said at last "And there's nothing I can do. We're stuck here while my sister tries to kill my brother. And I'm helpless...I just want to forget everything."

"Then let go," he whispered back to her.

Enzo brought his hand up to her face and pulled her lips to his. Their kissing intensified like always but there was desperation that had never been there before now. Rebekah desperately wanting to forget what was going on in New Orleans, Enzo desperately wanting to officially put his past behind him and revel in the fact that Rebekah Mikaelson was the best thing he had ever had in his life. Despite her crazy family and the danger that lay ahead, he wanted her. He wanted to fight for her and protect her and care for her. If that meant helping her save Klaus, the man who hours earlier tried to end his life, then that's what he would do.

Her hands quickly struggled with the bottom of his t-shirt, pulling it over his head as they both stood. Before long both of their shirts were lying on the floor, as he hoisted her up in his arms, her legs wrapped around his hips and carried her into the bedroom and onto the mattress.


	13. Chapter 13

"Where did you get that?" Klaus deadpanned as he stared at the object that could destroy him.

"That's irrelevant," Freya felt triumph with every word "What matters is that before I kill you, we are going to air some of our family's dirty laundry."

Klaus smiled. One of those deceiving smiles, where you never knew whether he was pleased or angry or a combination of the two. He glanced between the two men flanking him on each side and held up his hands in a shrug.

"Our family has had dirty laundry for years. Most of it has been washed and hung out to dry decades ago...What are you blathering on about?" Klaus was doing his best to hide his nerves, keep a calm exterior.

"First, this is _family_ only," she turned her eyes to Marcel "You need to leave."

"Marcellus is more family to me than you are, either of you," Klaus cast a glance at his eldest brother who was still holding a disoriented Elijah.

Marcel folded his arms across his chest proudly. He had to admit it struck a chord with him that Klaus would make such a statement in front of them. He wasn't sure from one day to the next where he stood with him.

"Leave," she repeated, walking toward Marcel until their faces were inches apart.

Marcel was all to eager to go. His mind was spinning with ways to find Rebekah. He kept his eyes icy and locked on Freya's pleased ones. He hated to let her win, run off and let her think she had scared him away; Rebekah's life was what mattered right now not his pride.

"Fine," he relented in his deep voice"But believe me when I say that if you hurt Rebekah..."

"Oh save it," Freya rolled her eyes "You've made your intentions with my sister very clear. When you abandoned her time and again, choosing Klaus and this city over her. You don't _deserve_ her..."

Marcel formed fists by his sides, trying his best to hold back the urge to bite into the pulsing artery in her neck. She smiled smugly as if she knew. She probably did.

"Keep your mouth shut too," she pointed a warning finger into the middle of his chest, "I have ears and eyes throughout this city and if you make a move against me, I'll know. Trust me, you won't like what I do next."

Marcel recoiled, forcing himself to remain calm as he fled the compound in a swift motion.

"Now, back to business," Freya walked closer to Klaus "When I took my little trip inside your mind, I uncovered many secrets that you hoped would stay hidden. Secrets that would no doubt hurt the people you love most, perhaps even turn them against you."

Klaus stiffened at her words. He could feel Kol do the same beside him. At this point, Kol was all that he had. No doubt Marcel was already beginning a search for Rebekah. Elijah was still of no use, and he only had himself to blame for that.

"_I know something they don't know_," Freya whispered at Klaus' ear in a sing song voice that actually sent a shiver briefly down his spine.

"Is this your feeble attempt to goad me?" he raised his eyebrow with annoyance "A few centuries old secrets..."

"Will you share sister?" Finn smiled, dropping Elijah to the floor with a thud.

Kol stepped forward to check on him but Freya's frightening gaze warned him off. Instead he watched as Elijah writhed in suffering and silent hallucinations. Klaus made it a point not to look at him. He couldn't be distracted right now.

"I would be more than willing to share what I know," Freya turned on her heels and stood beside Finn "Who should we start with?"

"Well, since I already despise the lying bastard, how about me? What has Niklaus done to me? Besides daggering me for nine hundred years and never mourning my death for a _single_, _solitary...second_."

"Oh there's more," Freya looked over at Finn and propped her arm on his broad shoulder "There was a woman. Firey red hair, piercing eyes, porcelain skin...Sage was her name. Do you remember her, brother?"

* * *

Rebekah rested her head on Enzo's chest and closed her eyes. For a few more seconds, she allowed herself to breathe in his intoxicating smell, feel the warmth their bodies had generated together, bask in the afterglow. She felt his hand dance along her scalp, running freely through her short hair repeatedly.

"What are you thinking about?" he finally asked, breaking the beautiful silence as the sun began to go down behind the trees outside the window.

"That I wish every day could be like this," she looked up at him.

"Wolf bites, crazed siblings, run down shacks, yes I see the appeal," he smiled at her.

She batted at his shoulder playfully, then lay her head down again on his bare skin.

"Not that," she said hoarsely "I wish I could lie like this every day with you with no other care in the world other than to be lost in your arms."

He reached down and hooked his finger under her chin forcing her to look up at him.

"If we ever get out of this bloody mess, that's what it will be for us," he insisted with a serious tone in his voice "It is something I have been without my entire life...I won't lose it. No witch or hybrid or New Orleans civil war will keep me from what I desire most."

She smiled nervously at him, as her mind began to drift away from her bliss with Enzo and back to the fact that at this very moment the white oak stake could be taking out her family. Somehow she had a feeling she would know if Klaus was dead. She didn't know why but she just felt she would. The night he had been staked by Alaric in front of her, it was if she felt it too. Her chest hurt, her guts hurt, her whole body ached with such sadness and loneliness. She would never forget that feeling.

"How are we going to get out of here?" she sighed, standing to her feet and reaching for her discarded undergarments on the floor.

"If your sister is as powerful as you say, how are two vampires going to break her spell, hm?" he raised an eyebrow as he pulled his pants up over his hips.

"I spent some time as a witch," she shrugged, walking into the other room to grab their shirts "I learned a thing or two."

"Did you now?"

"One story at a time," she teased him, tossing him his t-shirt "Maybe there's something in all this mess she left here."

After she was dressed, she made her way over to Freya's table covered with objects. She found a tall stack of papers and slowly began to flip through them.

"Look at this," she gasped at last, as she neared the end of the pages.

Enzo came up behind her and peered over her shoulder.

"These are spells from my mother's grimoire. She _ripped_ them out of her grimoire," Rebekah ran her hand over them "This is my mother's writing."

"These pages are a thousand years old," Enzo marveled.

"Why did she take these specific ones?" she raised an eyebrow "Why not take the whole book?"

"Maybe she didn't need the whole book."

Klaus had handed over the grimoire in order for Rebekah and Freya to resurrect Kol all those months ago. He had immediately taken back possession over it. She didn't recognize the words on the pages as the same spell they had used.

"What is she doing?" she sighed exasperated.

"Klaus is powerful," Enzo ran his hands along her shoulders "He can fend her off."

"For how long?" Rebekah leaned back against him, her brow creased with worry.

Despite how dispicable her brother could be, she couldn't lose him. She wouldn't.

x x x x

* * *

"Sage?" Finn shifted uncomfortabley "What about her?"

"You loved her Finn," Freya looked up at her brother with sympathy "You cared for her so deeply, didn't you?"

"She was the love of my life," Finn agreed, his mind adrift to another time and place.

"This is getting disgusting," Kol mumbled under his breath.

Freya shot him a glare and he wiped the smirk off his face.

"What are you going on about? Finn was in love with the village tarte, so what?" Klaus sighed.

"You know why," Freya walked away from Finn and closer to him "You knew how much Finn had admired Sage from afar, how he longed to be with her."

"Finn could never get a proper word out to a woman," Klaus shared a laugh with Kol "Never could get their knickers in a twist, could you brother?"

Finn felt the rage welling up inside of him at the insult. He had been shy as a young man, protected by his mother but the torch he carried for Sage had never burned out.

"Klaus seduced Sage, all for the sake of getting to her before you did," Freya turned back to him "He used her as a way to extract revenge on you for being the favorite son. He lay with her over and over again. He cared nothing for her. She was merely a means to an end for him, brother."

"She would have told me," Finn stammered.

"No, brother," Freya lightly touched the side of Finn's face "No she wouldn't. She didn't want to hurt you. She didn't want you to know that she had stooped so low."

"She was quite good at that actually," Klaus smarted with amusement, which caused Kol to choke back a laugh.

Finn lunged toward Klaus but Freya stepped in front of him.

"All in good time brother," she reminded him.

* * *

Marcel took a deep breath as he approached the home that now belong to Davina. When Josephine was killed by Dahlia, her home went to the new regent to the witches. The grand estate was now Davina Claire's.

He rarely saw her anymore. She preferred to spend her time with the witches, telling him that he could be assured he was safe but dealings with vampires of any kind was not good for the covens. It stung to hear her say that. He was the only true family she had for so long and now the covens had taken his place.

Two male witches were standing on either side of the front door as he reached the bottom of the steps to the porch. He saw them exchange glances, not knowing whether to attack.

"It's ok," Marcel urged "She's expecting me."

They did recognize him. He was one of few vampires who were ever allowed entrance into the home. The doors swung open as if on cue and he walked passed them inside. He found Davina in the sitting room, wearing what looked like a nightgown with a long flowing over jacket. Her hair was curled up above her neck and her eyes no longer held the same playfulness he remembered from a year ago.

"Marcel," she spoke, over her tea cup "I didn't expect you here so quickly."

"I told you it was an emergency."

"And _I_ told_ you _that I can't help you," she sat her cup down on it's saucer and stood to walk toward the fireplace.

"I know Klaus isn't your favorite person, hell the whole family is your enemy now but you have to believe me when I tell you that Rebekah will die if I can't find her. She's always been good to you Davina, she cared for you when nobody else in that family gave a damn..."

"She took away my only chance to resurrect Kol."

"Would you have taken him in as a vampire?"

Davina looked over at him with her vacant stare.

"I would never have became regent if I had been able to bring him back," she stated flatly.

"_Kol _loves Rebekah._ I _love Rebekah," Marcel was growing desperate "Please just do the spell and tell me where she is. That's all I need from you."

His words seemed to strike a chord somewhere within her. Davina knew Kol cared for his family. She remembered him dying in Rebekah's arms, the smile on his face even in death.

"If I choose to help you, I want no part in this war to come," she turned to him "The covens want peace. If you leave us alone, we will leave you alone...at least for now. But I will say that I hope Freya succeeds in ending Klaus' life. Crosses one goal off my list as regent."

"Davina?"

They both turned to find Vincent standing in the doorway. He and Marcel shared a staredown for a few brief seconds.

"I'll be there shortly Vince, leave us," she instructed and he did as he was told.

"D, please," Marcel stepped toward her.

"I'll do it," she sighed "Then you must leave. The leaders of the covens are having a meeting tonight. General business. They must not see you."

"Thank you," he breathed with relief as he followed her into her spell room.

* * *

"Now who should we talk about next?" Freya glanced around the room with a mischevious light in her eyes.

"Kol," she turned to her youngest brother "Why not you? Would you like to know the betrayals that Klaus has committed against you?"

"I witnessed most of them," Kol smirked at Klaus "Whatever you're trying to do here, it isn't working. Betrayal is this family's middle name."

"Really? Like all the times they left you out of their vow, the times that Klaus dug a dagger in your heart when he got tired of your wild behavior?"

"That's a start," Kol folded his arms across his chest.

"So you know then?"

"Know what?"

"You know about Klaus turning Rebekah and Elijah against you? Securing your place in this family as the black sheep, always and forever?"

"What?" Kol's brow furrowed with confusion, as Klaus' shoulders slumped.

"Ah, I've struck a chord," Freya grinned proudly "Let's delve into that shall we?"


	14. Chapter 14

"This is getting ridiculous," Klaus scoffed at Freya as they stood at a standoff beside a confused and bewildered Kol.

"Is it?" Freya smirked, reaching out ferociously and placing one hand on the side of each of their heads "Let's go back shall we?"

Kol and Klaus flinched as a jolt went through both of their brains.

"There was a time Kol, when you were close with Rebekah. Remember when you were children? You thought she hung the moon and you would spend countless hours playing together...A time when Elijah looked after you just as he did the other two...But then it all changed..."

Kol grimaced as the jolt became worse, both in his heart and his head. Suddenly he was taken back to their village in Mystic Falls. He, Klaus and Freya all were there watching the story unfold before their eyes.

_It was the morning that Niklaus murdered Esther. Her blood soaked body lay in a heap on the floor of the kitchen. The stench was beginning to become more prominent as the noon day sun warmed up the tiny hut. _

_Niklaus hurried to rid himself of all the blood by bathing in the river that ran behind their village. He had to be quick about it. Rebekah, Elijah and the others had been hiding in one of the bunkers that the villagers built in order to protect their children on nights of werewolf attacks. He had volunteered to go search the grounds and report back. He had found his mother alone, without fear. She knew her lover would protect her, he gathered. That made him even angrier. _

_He could barely see his hands through the blood and tears that were clouding his vision. He felt no guilt, not sorrow for ending his wretched mother's life. She deserved it. The look in her eyes as he ripped into her throat, he had reveled in it. What bothered him was how his siblings would react. He was determined not to lose them. They were all he had in this world. The only ones who now understood what it was like to have this lust for blood, this desire to kill that took over your senses. _

_His worried most for Rebekah. He could not lose his little sister. She would not survive on her own but their mother's death would be devastating for her. She did not see the evil that Niklaus saw when he looked into her stony eyes. He must find a way to convince her that this was for the best. He had to show all of them that what he did, he had done for the good of the family. They were better off without her, without both of their parents. If he had been able to find Mikael, he would have ended his miserable life too. The coward that he was, he had fled without regard for his children or wife. His siblings had to see, they had to know that he was justified._

_Deep down he knew they would be angry. Perhaps turn against him._

_He scrubbed at his hands even harder, the bloody tears sliding down his rough cheeks. His mind racing with thoughts that he would rather not wonder to. His siblings turning their backs on him. Never seeing Rebekah laugh or Elijah joust with him again. Living a cold, miserable existence alone. With no real parents. No family. No companionship._

_What other choice did he have?_

_He would lie._

_He had never been much for lying. He had always tried to be honest and sincere. Along with the bloodlust though, came this urge for power. Power that he could never have had as a human. Power over his spiteful mother, his monster of a father. Power to control them and hurt them and defend himself. He would not let that go. If he had to lie, steal, manipulate in order to preserve himself he would because he now held the power. He now was an evenly matched opponent for his father. He outmatched every other villager, every other enemy. He wasn't the weak, pathetic Niklaus anymore...He was something far superior._

_He would lie._

_He would say that Mikael killed their mother. In a fit of rage, consumed with bloodlust and angry at his condition he had lashed out at her. It wouldn't be so hard to believe. They had been fighting for weeks over whether they had made the right decision. The anger only worsened once Mikael discovered Niklaus was not his son, when his wolf gene had been triggered. He had even pinned Esther up in the corner of the hut one night, hands tightly around her throat, demanding to know who she had lay with. Niklaus had went out to hunt instead of listen, whoever it was...he didn't want to know. The man had abandoned him. Sentenced him to a life of misery with Mikael._

"_Niklaus!" Kol's voice shouted out as he made his way up from the river bank, the blood floating along with the current._

"_I thought I warned you to stay in the bunker with Elijah," he scolded him as he reached him at the top of the hill._

"_Elijah sent me out to find you. Rebekah would not let him go...It has been hours since the invasion ended. It is safe to come out now, is it not?"_

"_No," Niklaus shook his head "We will never be safe again Kol...Mikael will be looking for us."_

"_Father? Why?" Kol furrowed his brow._

"_Come," Niklaus led him to their hut._

"_Prepare yourself brother...our mother has been his victim," Niklaus placed a comforting hand on his little brother's shoulder._

_He swung the door open and Kol jumped back. The smell of the blood was so strong and his only urge was to feed upon it...Feed upon his mother. He felt warm tears spring to his eyes, as he saw what his father had done._

"_Shut the...shut the door," he stammered, turning and leaning against the side of the building with his hand clamped over his nose and mouth._

"_It was Mikael who did this and he shall return for us," Niklaus assured him._

_Yes, Mikael. In truth, Mikael was to blame._

"_We must leave. Now. All of us. We have to stay together Nik," Kol raised up trying to regain his composure "Father will not hesitate to kill us all...Except maybe Finn."_

"_Finn is of no use to us, he left out early this morning and hasn't returned," Niklaus scoffed._

_He watched as Kol battled to control his urge to consume Esther's blood. He backed away from the hut, bent over in agony as he fought the war within himself. Already Niklaus and Elijah were much stronger than he was at handling it. Rebekah had not yet mastered it but he was sure with time they could teach her to control it. She wasn't one for lashing out. She was usually wracked with guilt over her kills._

_Niklaus thought it over. Kol was just as firey as he was. He was always challenging him. Once they turned, it had intensified. They often got into fights that Elijah had to break up. Kol was also messy. He attacked villagers in broad daylight after they had gotten their rings. He dragged countless women into the woods with his charms and compulsion, then left their drained corpses along the river side for Elijah or Niklaus to deal with. _

_Kol was a liability. Not to mention the fact that Rebekah was always more than willing to be dragged into one of his ideas. He was likely to put her in serious danger. He would not allow that. Any of it. They would be better off without Kol. He was their brother but Niklaus had to think of preservation. He could not live without Rebekah and Elijah, he could live without Kol._

"_No," he shook his head "We must split up. Go to different ends of the Earth. If we remain together, we remain a target. If we split up, it will be less likely for him to find us. We have to think like Mikael now."_

"_But Nik," Kol began to protest "Surely you don't expect Rebekah to..."_

"_Rebekah will stay with me, for now," he continued "But you must run brother! Run as far as you can and don't look back!"_

_Kol stood there, staring at him with pain and confusion and determination all mixed on his features._

"That hurt didn't it?" Freya looked over at Kol "When Klaus turned you away."

"Shut up," Kol said through gritted teeth.

Klaus ran a hand over his rattled face.

"_Run brother!" Niklaus raised his voice with urgency._

_Kol reached out and pulled him into a hug, which took Niklaus by surprise. His body stiffened at the contact but he allowed it. He was fond of his baby brother but this was for the best. Self preservation, he decided, was the first rule of vampirisim._

"_Goodbye brother," Kol breathed out with sorrow when they parted "Please tell the others that we will see each other again."_

"_I will. Til we meet again," he nodded "Now go."_

_With that, Kol was gone._

_Minutes later, Elijah came over the hill with Rebekah clutching to his side._

_Niklaus took a deep breath and prepared himself to spill out his story again._

"_Where is Kol?" Rebekah immediately asked with fear in her clear eyes._

"_Yes, we sent him for you," Elijah glanced around "Where has he gone brother?"_

_What was he going to say? How would he explain his selfish need to keep his favorite siblings close to him? To keep them only his?_

_Lie._

"_He has deserted us, brother," Niklaus closed his eyes as he spoke, pain on every inch of his face "He ran. He said he could no longer take this life...This life with us...He is gone."_

"_No," Rebekah shook her head "Kol would not leave us! He is our family..."_

"She was heartbroken," Freya said quietly by Kol's side 'They both were."

Kol watched intently. The realization setting in that after all these years, they had cared for him. He _had_ mattered.

"_We are each other's family," Niklaus insisted, drawing Rebekah toward him and locking eyes with Elijah "We are all each other has left...Kol abandoned us but we must not abandon each other. We must carry on without him...but I must tell you about mother..."_

"Always and forever," Freya breathed out with disgust as she stepped back slowly from her brothers "You wanted Elijah and Rebekah all to yourself, so you killed our mother, spread lies about Kol and Mikael..."

"How dare you?" Kol turned toward Klaus, ignoring Freya's words "All this time, all these years they thought that I had left them behind. That I didn't care..."

"I did what I had to do Kol," Klaus tried to cover, his cool exterior beginning to fade "I did what I had to do to save our family!"

"You did what you needed to do to save yourself!" Kol spat "Sending me off alone into the world while you kept them close to you. Guarded them, protected them, while I was on my own!"

"You were volatile!" Klaus exploded "You made stupid decisions and acted without reflection. I couldn't risk my life, Rebekah's, Elijah's lives! If you wanted to go out and destroy yourself then I could not stop you!"

"Destroy myself?" Kol shook his head "All this time I believed that they hated me. That_ you all _hated me. I never understood why I was the one left out...But now I see...as long as your precious two were safe, I could have went to hell for all you cared!"

"That's not true!" Klaus stepped closer, their noses inches apart as both of their eyes lit with anger "I cared for you! You were my brother! But you were a liablity that I could not take on. It was not an easy decision, Kol."

"You should believe him, Kol."

They all turned to find Elijah standing on his feet. He was still pale and weak but his eyes were alive again. His hand clutched at his neck, where the bite wound was slowly starting to disappear.

"Elijah."

"We never stopped caring for you," Elijah walked slowly toward them.

"But you believed his lies, didn't you?" Kol shrugged with digust "You believed that I had left you behind."

"Yes," Elijah sighed, his eyes darting to Klaus "And for that I am truly sorry."

"It's a little late for apologies now," Freya continued, as she watched a dissheveled Elijah make his way to Kol's side.

She had not intended on Elijah coming to so soon. It was a blow to her plan but nothing she and Finn couldn't handle.

"You were not there, you do not know the torment that our family has endured, flashes of memories will never replace the true agony that we have felt in our souls," Elijah spoke calmly to Freya.

"And you will never know mine," she spoke back just as smoothly.

"Ah, I thought you two were thick as thieves," Klaus raised an eyebrow "Changing teams again brother?"

"Niklaus now is not that time nor the place for this discussion," Elijah turned to him.

"Yes, let's save the future of the crescent wolves for later shall we?" Freya returned to her place beside Finn.

"What more do you want from us?" Klaus growled "I have been patient long enough."

"Oh it's coming," Freya exchanged a look with Finn who had a pleased smile on his chiseled face "We just have to be patient."

* * *

"Ever since the day that crazed lunatic Mikaelson took over my body, I've had nothing but trouble," Vincent grumbled, as he dodged a tree limb that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"Will you stop your complaining?" Marcel scowled as he followed after him.

"Hey, all I know is, we're trapsing through the swamp, up to our knees in mud, all so you can save some girl that you lost a hundred years ago," he continued.

"You don't know anything about her," Marcel forced his anger to a minimum.

Davina had completed the locator spell but once she realized the site was also connected with a boundary spell she had agreed to send Vincent along to break it.

"I know that she don't want you," Vincent all but laughed "I know that she's down here in the swamp with another man. I also know that she left town and you didn't lift a finger to try to stop her."

"Women like Rebekah can't be tamed," Marcel responded, shoving another large branch out of their path "They aren't meant to be."

"That's what I used to say about Eva," Vincent said aloud, before he could stop himself.

He tried not to think about her. The memories were to tainted and painful.

"She's no Eva," Marcel sneered at the comparison.

"You can say that again. Only one of them in the world. The devil broke the mold when he made her."

"Look, just how much further is it?" Marcel stopped, irritation growing in his gut by the second.

"You're standing in front of it," Vincent answered matter of factly, heading forward toward the shack.

"Rebekah!" Marcel called out into the darkness.

As he got closer, he could see through a tiny window the flicker of light.

"Rebekah!"

The door slowly opened and he could see her illuminated by the light from a candle she was holding in her hand. It lit up her face so that it glowed like an angel and he felt his breath catch in his throat. Immediately she smiled at him and then her eyes drifted over to Vincent. He saw her tense up, just as Enzo's face came into view behind her.

"What is _he_ doing here?" Rebekah spat.

"Look, if you don't want my help, I'll be happy to take myself on home and get out of this place. All I'm doing is being a buffet for the mosquitoes," Vincent quipped, holding his hands up in the air.

"He's come to help you, he's going to lift the boundary spell," Marcel asssured her "Davina sent him."

"Davina? And we are to _trust _her after everything she has done? She barely speaks to you Marcel," Rebekah began to protest.

"I know, I know all that," Marcel walked closer to the door "But she agreed to do this for me. She wanted to help. Vincent knows how to lift this spell."

"It's not no ordinary boundary spell. Freya is a powerful witch," Vincent sighed "It's gonna take a little time and I'm gonna need quiet. So you two need to stop your bickering and shut your mouths, understood?"


	15. Chapter 15

"Exactly how long is this going to take?" Rebekah asked nervously, as she paced back and forth in the doorway.

Vincent looked up from his place on the ground in front of the shack and rolled his eyes, which could barely be seen in the candlelight he had placed all around him.

"This is a complicated spell. She's put such intricacies in each layer," he sighed "An inexperienced witch wouldn't have a chance in hell of breaking it..."

"Fortunately for us," Marcel stood behind him with his arms folded across his chest "Vincent is more than capable of breaking it."

"Quite a humble lot you've taken up with Rebekah," Enzo observed, as he leaned against the frame of the door.

"What the hell are you doing here anyway?" Marcel spat, walking closer to the shack, as Vincent was lost again in deep concentration.

"Beg your pardon mate?" Enzo raised an amused eyebrow.

"_Marcel_...Not now," Rebekah said through gritted teeth as she finally stopped her pacing.

"You gave that vial to him didn't you?" Marcel licked the disgust off his lips as he stared into Rebekah's eyes "You came and begged that blood off me for him."

"No, I didn't," her patience wearing very thin with him "I had every intention of giving it to Elijah but when I returned home I found Lorenzo in torment...You don't expect me to leave an innocent man in such agony."

"Innocent?" Marcel grinned with dismay "Oh he is anything but...I've done my homework on your new boyfriend Rebekah..."

"And just what would you know about me?" Enzo stopped leaning and stood blocking the doorway, the men as close to each other as they could get because of the spell.

"I know you were basically kicked out of town. Cast out by your sire and your newfound family. Nobody wanted you around...Of course, that was after you killed countless innocents in Mystic Falls..."

"As if we have never done the same?" Rebekah inquired with a hint of venom in her voice from over Enzo's shoulder "None of us here are saints, are we _Marcellus_?"

"Never said we were...but your Lorenzo here is one heartless bastard."

"You better be thankful for that witch," Enzo snarled "If it wasn't for this damn spell, I would rip your heart out where you stand."

"Lorenzo!" Rebekah felt fear rise in her throat.

Did she want to be with Marcel? No. Did she approve of his verbal attack? No. But she didn't want him dead.

"I can handle myself," Marcel scowled at her half-hearted attempt to protect him "It's you I'm worried about."

Enzo shook his head with disbelief and then his eyes lit again with anger.

"The real injustice here is the pain you've caused Rebekah over the centuries. Choosing to have her boxed for over fifty years so that you might get what you desired more than her...immortality."

"Been spilling your guts to this guy, huh?" Marcel glared at her.

"Choosing a bloody city over her time and time again, with no regard for the sacrifices she made for you..." Enzo continued.

"Just stop it!" Rebekah shouted, running her hands over her face "Both of you!"

Enzo recoiled, until they were both taking up equal space in the doorway and Marcel's eyes danced across her face trying to read her thoughts.

"My brother could be dead!" she spat "Freya and Finn could have taken out my entire family! This petty foolishness is pathetic! If you two want to fight over who is the better man then be my guest, but save it for when I'm not around to listen."

Both of their eyes fell to their feet, shuffling awkwardly.

"I hate to interrupt your soap opera here but..." Vincent's voice broke the tension in the air and they all turned to him.

He was back on his feet, visibly tired from the spell.

"It's done," he brushed the dirt on his hands onto his pants and held his arms up awaiting praise.

Rebekah rushed past Enzo as she stepped over the threshold and made it to Vincent within a second.

"We're not finished with you," she grabbed Vincent by the arm "I have a plan and I need you to help carry it out."

"Uh uh, I agreed to help you guys out because Davina asked me to but this is where my charity witch work ends," he shook his head.

"I owe you a great debt," Rebekah looked him in the eyes, still clinging to his arm "Not one but two. You helped save my life when Eva trapped me inside her body...And tonight you have given me the chance to save my brothers...But I haven't a chance to ensure their safety unless you agree to help me one last time. You will have my everlasting appreciation..And though I know that Davina wants nothing to do with my family, it could never hurt having a Mikaelson in your back pocket."

Vincent shifted uncomfortably, weighing the risks and benefits in his mind. Finally, his eyes met hers again and he smiled.

"Your brother took over my body, locked me out of my own life, probably left countless victims in his wake...If you need my help in extracting revenge against Finn Mikaelson...how can I say no?"

Rebekah smiled with relief, looping her arm through his and turning her back on the two vampires who were glaring at each other.

"I'll explain on the way," she insisted "We have to hurry!"

* * *

"So what's next?" Klaus held his arms by his sides "Are you to overload Elijah's already cloudy mind with treachery and deceit? The one brother among us who you seem to have some affection for?"

"Elijah already knows your greatest treachery," Freya spoke calmly "When you arranged for Hayley to be trapped in her wolf form, you took away the love of his life. An action that I am certain he will never forgive you for. Not even Elijah is that noble."

"Do you have any idea how many loves my brother has had over the centuries?" Klaus scoffed "Surely you do since you have probed my mind so thoroughly. He will find another. We will move on, as we always do..."

"And _that_ is your typical answer," Finn shook his head from his place beside Freya "Niklaus always feels that the rest of us can love again, can build again, as long as nothing is ever taken from him..."

"How are you feeling Kol?" Freya turned her eyes to their youngest brother, who stood balancing Elijah's weight as he still struggled to stand.

"I have nothing to say to you," Kol bit back.

"Nor do I," Elijah echoed him.

"You are both fools," Freya shook her head in frustration "No matter. In time, these memories, these secrets that have come to light will eat away at you. Eventually you will see that you are better off without Klaus by your side."

"Are we done here?" Klaus raised an annoyed eyebrow.

"Freya!"

Everyone turned to see Rebekah standing in the doorway. Her pants were covered in mud, a few splatters were on her white t-shirt. Her eyes were burning with determination that caused a proud smile to spread across Klaus' lips.

"_Oh sister_," Freya sighed with disappointment "I had so hoped you would come to your senses."

"How dare you?" Rebekah walked closer to her and Finn "How dare you lie to me?"

"It is no worse than anything Klaus has done to you," she shrugged "I did what I did to protect you."

"We told you Rebekah," Finn spoke up "You are the one who can be wanted to keep you there to insure your safety."

"You wanted to test me," Rebekah hissed "And I guess I failed."

"There may still be hope for you yet," Freya insisted "But not as long as Klaus is walking this earth."

She reached into her belt again and pulled out the stake. Within a second, Rebekah had rushed over and put herself between Freya and Klaus.

"Bekah," Klaus hissed behind her, so close she could feel his breath on her neck.

"Shut up, Nik," she whispered back.

"So this is your big plan?" Klaus had no intention of shutting up as he looked around Rebekah at the other two "You isolate Rebekah, turn her against me and build a new family."

"Rebekah has the purest heart," Freya insisted "I learned that when I first met her."

"I wish that had never happened," Rebekah shook her head "You would still be stuck in that looney bin where you belong."

"And Dahlia would still be a threat to your precious Hope," Freya smirked "If it wasn't for me, that child would live all of her days afraid that our aunt would come and steal her from all of you."

"And yet you are the aunt who wants to take her father away," Rebekah spat.

"She's better off without her father!"

"You know nothing about fathers," Rebekah shook her head "If you did, you would know that Mikael was _no father._ Not to any of us."

"Mikael loved me," Freya shook her head "And Klaus is the reason that he is gone!"

"If you want to kill Nik, you'll have to kill me first," Rebekah spoke defiantly.

She heard Klaus' breath hitch in his throat from behind her.

"Rebekah, no," Elijah hissed hoarsely, trying to move but falling back against Kol.

"Do I have to remind you of the horrendous things that Klaus has done to you? The torture you have been subject to?" Freya reached out with her free hand and planted it on the side of Rebekah's head.

Countless images flashed through Rebekah's mind. All the past lovers that had been murdered before her eyes, times she had been ripped from a home she loved because Klaus decided it was time to move, staring into Klaus' eyes as he daggered her, Klaus hovering over her with Papa Tunde's blade in the asylum...

"Stop it!" Rebekah ripped Freya's hand from her head and pushed her away, causing her to crash into Finn.

"Can't handle the truth sister?" Freya asked once she regained her composure "It's hard to deny how terrible our brother is when its staring you in the face."

"The only thing that is staring me in the face is the _sister_ that I had longed for, the _sister_ I wanted so desperately...And what a disappointment you have been Freya...I realize now that I was better off without you...Despite what you think of Nik, he is _my _brother. He is my family. Yes, we have our troubles, yes we fight and we hurt each other but I know that he will always protect me when it counts..."

Tears were streaming down Rebekah's flushed cheeks as she glared into her sister's stony eyes.

Klaus felt a single tear sliding down his own cheek and he wished it would disappear. He had never heard his sister stand up for him to anyone other than Mikael. Perhaps over the years she had, but this was the first time he had heard it with his own ears.

Kol's eyes widened as he helped Elijah lean against the wall behind them. He felt fear in this throat. He didn't like not knowing the plan and clearly there was some sort of plan in place. Rebekah was to calm, to insistent.

"_We_ are the Original family," Rebekah continued "Nik, Elijah, Kol and me. We will remain together. Regardless of what evil you have brought here...You will fail."

Kol felt a smile form on his lips when he heard his name included.

"Perhaps there are things that_ you_ should see Freya," Rebekah reached out and caught Freya's head in her own hand.

Freya's mind was immediately filled with images that Rebekah wanted to show her. Klaus and Rebekah running along the river bank as kids giggling, Klaus comforting her during thunderstorms, Klaus guarding the outside of their hut during the time Mikael wanted to promise her hand, Klaus sitting with her the night they turned comforting her and telling her he would make sure they were ok...

"I've seen enough," Freya jerked away.

"What's the matter sister?" Rebekah echoed Freya's own words "Can't handle the truth?"

Klaus watched in awe where he stood. He, like Kol, was on to the fact that Rebekah was clearly working a plan.

"Move, Rebekah," Freya's eyes grew angry as she stepped within inches of Rebekah's face.

Rebekah grinned mischeviously "Just take us both out."

Freya gripped the stake even tighter as her eyes flashed around to Finn and back again.

"Maybe that's the problem...Maybe you _can't_ take us both out," Rebekah said in a lower voice "Because that ressurection spell you performed on the stake is a one time deal isn't it? Once you use it, then it will disintegrate and will be gone forever. Your one shot of killing Nik will be gone if you hit the wrong target..."

"Move _Rebekah_!" Freya shouted with such ferocity that it would scare the average person.

"Do it, Freya," Rebekah leaned in so her nose almost touched her sister's.

Freya raised her arm with the stake shakily.

"You know, you would have been much better off if I had left you in that house," Rebekah continued to talk calmly "As long as you were linked with Dahlia, you were immortal...Now..."

As Freya raised the stake, Rebekah reached into her chest with speed so fast she had no time to react. Freya's eyes widened with shock as she felt Rebekah's hand twist through her ribcage and grab hold of her heart.

"You're just a mere mortal, dear sister," Rebekah smiled.

"No!" Finn shouted.

Klaus rushed for him and pinned him against the wall. Elijah tried to move to help but Kol held him back. He was far to weak to get involved.

"Rebekah, please..." Freya pleaded with her eyes.

"Freya!" Finn shouted in agony, as Klaus tightened his arm against his throat.

"Please, we can be a family Rebekah. We can have everything you've ever dreamed of...You know what I can offer you," Freya's mind was racing with panic and it showed on every feature of her contorted face.

"I will _always_ choose Nik over you," Rebekah shook her head "There's no point in begging sister, it doesn't become you..."

"You sound just like him," Freya snarled.

Rebekah lurched on the heart and pulled it forward just barely still inside Freya's shaking body.

"Freya!" Finn pushed against Klaus, much stronger than his brother remembered him to be.

"Now Rebekah!" Klaus shouted, as his grip on Finn was becoming more difficult.

Freya's eyes turned and locked with her beloved brother's for a brief second. The fear was mirrored in both.

"Always and forever," Rebekah smiled tugging her attention back to her, then plucked Freya's heart from her chest.

Freya dropped to the floor her mouth still open in a gasp. Rebekah stared down at her, wiping the tears off her face with the back of her arm and then tossed the heart down on top of her older sister's corpse. She took her bloody hand and ran it over her white t-shirt, smearing her sister's blood across her stomach.

Kol finally left Elijah against the wall and rushed to help Klaus restrain a hysterical Finn.

"What have you done?" Finn shouted at Rebekah "What have you done? You _hypocritical_, _manipulative_, _bitch_!"

Klaus tightened his grip around Finn's throat.

"Speak badly about my sister again and I will make your suffering intolerable," he hissed.

"Now comes the matter of you dear brother," Rebekah walked over to them after picking up the stake and securing it in the waistband of her pants "Months ago you cursed Kol to his witch body and then condemned him to death."

Kol flinched as he held his grip on Finn, unable even still to look at him.

"Kol deserves his revenge," she continued "And tonight, he will get it."

Klaus and Kol exchanged a confused look.

"Vincent!" she shouted out into the night.

Vincent, Marcel and Enzo came through the front door.

"Now," Rebekah instructed.

Marcel and Enzo joined in the restraint as Vincent placed his hands on either side of Finn's head.

"I had wondered what it would feel like to look you in the eyes," Vincent said smugly "It will be a great honor to bestow this upon you."

Vincent began to recite a spell and Finn began to weaken as it coursed through his body. The other brothers watched in confusion, as Elijah finally pulled himself together and crossed the room. He rested beside Rebekah, who looped her arm around him for support.

"Now brother, you will not be able to body jump. The same punishment you gave Kol," Rebekah smiled when Vincent pulled away.

"No," Finn wrestled to break free.

"You will be forever trapped inside the body you hate most," she stood in front of him, still shouldering Elijah "Condemned to the life that we sit fit for you."

"And it would be such a pity to lose _another_ sibling," Klaus smiled as the plan now fully came together in his mind.

"Yes, so we will keep possession of the white oak stake to ensure your safety big brother," Rebekah grinned "We wouldn't want to lose you too."

"You will all pay for this," Finn groaned, as his eyes fell upon Freya's body across the room.

"Oh, I am certain," Klaus scoffed "It's four against one Finn. The odds are not in your favor."

"Nor will they ever be," Elijah spoke at last "Release him. Let him crawl off into the night like the pathetic soul that he is."

"Go brother," Kol released his arm "_We _will not miss you."

It felt good to say that. Throwing Finn's own words in his face from the night he was hexed.

Finn took one last glance at Freya before racing out of the compound into the dark night.

"Elijah," Klaus rushed to his brother and opened his wrist, pressing it toward his mouth.

"No," Elijah protested at first.

"Drink brother. Save your anger for another day," he insisted.

Finally, after a pleading look from Rebekah, Elijah allowed himself to take in just enough blood to rid himself of the remaining venom then pushed Klaus away with more force than necessary.

Once Elijah was able to stand on his own, all eyes turned to Rebekah.

"So, you _have_ learned a thing or two from me after all," Klaus smiled with pride.


	16. Chapter 16

Rebekah turned her gaze away from all the pairs of eyes staring at her and walked slowly back to Freya's body. Her eyes were still open, glassy and Rebekah felt like they were staring right into her soul.

She crouched down beside the body and covered her own mouth with her blood stained hand. The finality of what she had done was finally setting in.

Freya was dead.

She had killed her own sister.

"There was no other choice, Rebekah," Elijah's calm and steady voice spoke from somewhere behind her.

"She would have killed Nik," Kol added "She had to be stopped."

Rebekah felt new tears start to form in the corners of her eyes and slide down her cheeks which also had a few specks of blood on them.

"Rebekah," she heard Enzo's comforting voice just above her but she couldn't even answer him.

She reached out and closed her sister's eyes with her bloody fingers; it was then she noticed that her hand was shaking.

She had killed hundreds, maybe even thousands of enemies in her thousand years but never had a death affected her like this. Elijah was right, there was no choice. At the time she knew that. At the time she was angry and scared and desperate. Now that it was over, she felt so ashamed. She should have tried something else. She could have worked harder to convince Freya to relinquish the stake.

"We have to burn the body," she heard Marcel speak in a low voice to the others.

"No," she jerked her head around "You can't do that."

"Rebekah, if we consecrate her body the elders can use her, she can be channeled. She has to be destroyed," Marcel insisted.

"No, not yet," she whispered "Please, not tonight."

"This is absurd. Our sister was an absolute mad woman who tried to rip this family apart and you are guarding her body as if she were a queen lying in state," Klaus' voice grew angry.

She reached out again, ignoring his remarks, and unhooked the pendant from around Freya's neck. She stood clutching it in her hand.

"Rebekah saved us all," Elijah was reasoning with Klaus "The least we can do is honor her request."

"That body burns tonight," Klaus argued back.

Rebekah didn't bother to look at any of them, including Enzo whose presence she felt so strongly. Instead, she sped off without a single word to any of them.

Klaus started off after her with a look of regret on his face but Elijah grabbed him by the arm.

"Leave her brother," he insisted "It has been a very long day."

"Speaking of long days," Kol looked over at Enzo "How is it you're still among the living mate?"

"Yes, I thought you would have succumbed to your injuries hours ago," Klaus smirked "I assume my little sister came to your aid. Funny though, I don't recall leaving any vials of my blood just lying around the house."

Enzo could feel Marcel's eyes on him but he continued to look at Klaus.

"I"m not sure where she found the blood and I assure you, I didn't want any help from you...but your sister insisted."

"Ah yes, Rebekah _is_ the savior of the weak," Klaus folded his hands behind his back "She was always nursing tiny, defenseless animals back to health when we were children, remember that Elijah?"

"Niklaus, enough," Elijah sighed "We have much to discuss but it can wait til morning. I think its time we get some rest...including our guest Lorenzo. I assume you will leave him be given what Rebekah has done for you tonight."

"For now," Klaus relented "For Rebekah's sake. However if you come at me again Lorenzo, I assure you sister or no, you will be dealt with. And this time, I will oversee it myself."

Enzo glared at Klaus before retreating up the staircase.

"Freya's body burns tonight," Klaus repeated once Enzo was gone.

"I'm going upstairs," Elijah sighed "Our sister has suffered enough today and I will not be a part of her pain...Don't you think you've caused enough heartache for one day?"

Klaus dropped his eyes, knowing that Elijah was also referring to all the suffering he had endured. He opened his mouth to speak.

"I _said_ we will discuss everything tomorrow," Elijah interrupted him "Good night, Niklaus."

"Kol," Klaus turned to his little brother once Elijah had exited "Get some of the guards to take her out into the woods and dispose of her."

"What about Finn?" Kol shifted uncomfortably.

"I'm sure we will see him soon enough," Klaus almost laughed "But we have nothing to fear. We hold the stake...Marcel, you will stay here tonight. Until we get an idea of what revenge Finn is planning, it's best that we hold as many cards as possible...And you are our key to the little witch. I assume we have her to thank for sending Vincent?"

"She helped us once, but she won't do it again," Marcel shook his head.

"I'm done too," Vincent spoke up "I've done enough for your people. I serve under Davina. My duty is to the covens."

"Covens that will be in grave danger if Freya somehow manages to draw strength from the ancestors," Klaus pointed out.

"Then burn the damn body," Vincent snarled before walking out of the compound.

* * *

"I thought I'd find you here," Klaus announced as he swooped down and sat beside Rebekah on the roof of the compound.

He had given her plenty of time alone. He had relieved Anna and stayed with Hope until she was asleep for the night.

"Why?" Rebekah asked absently, staring off into the New Orleans night.

A light breeze lifted up the ends of her short hair and it danced along with the music being played on the street below.

"This was always your favorite spot to retreat after one of our rowes."

"I must have spent more time on this roof than I did within the walls," she smirked ever so slightly, still avoiding his eyes.

Klaus chuckled softly and settled in to watch the city with her. Saturday night always brought a lively crowd of tourists and locals alike. He could see a wedding procession making its way through the quarter. The music was loud and lively. The couple perfectly dressed and giddy as children. Then there were the countless groups of drunken tourists, stumbling from bar to bar.

"Is Hope all right?" Rebekah finally glanced over at him.

"Yes, she's sleeping. Anna is with her."

"She's very good with Hope."

"I found her on the street. She was selling portraits," he explained "She's quite the artist. She painted the landscape in the nursery."

Silence fell upon them again and the awkwardness of the entire situation was not lost on Klaus. He fidgeted nervously, unsure of how to begin.

"Is it wrong that I can't wash her blood off my hand?" Rebekah turned to face him and he could see the lines of tears that were dried on her cheeks.

"Rebekah..." he began.

"I know you hated her Nik...but I wanted a sister so desperately...I let it blind me from the truth," she was staring down at her hands, fumbling with them.

"If it weren't for you...Rebekah...I might have died tonight."

Those were very hard words to say. They left a bad taste in his mouth. He never liked admitting weakness. He never did but tonight he had to. He had to acknowledge what she had done for him.

"Nik," she started to protest.

"How often do you get a thank you from me?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Oh is that what this is?" she smiled slightly and it caused a smile to form on his own lips.

"Thank you, _sister_," his eyes grew more serious "For saving my life tonight...For choosing to side with me despite my faults...Despite my actions in the last twenty four hours."

"You're welcome," she finally spoke although he still saw the sadness in her eyes as she turned back to the crowds below.

They sat for a few minutes and then Rebekah began to cough. At first it was a dry cough and then it grew until she was doubled over.

"Rebekah?" Klaus raised a worried eyebrow.

Originals didn't get sick. They never got coughs or stomach aches or any of the normal human ailments.

When she raised her head up to take a breath, he noticed the blood on her chin. Blood covered the front of her t-shirt and a trickle of blood was running down from her nose. Her coughing intensified and she reached out and gripped his arm to hold herself steady.

"Rebekah!" he shouted, fear beginning to rise up in his own throat.

"Nik," she sputtered "What's happening?"

She coughed again and blood splattered out all over Klaus' shirt. The fear in her eyes mirrored the fear in his as they both realized something had gone terribly wrong.

"Elijah!" Klaus shouted, reaching down and sweeping her up into his arms "Elijah!"

* * *

"Can't sleep?" Kol glanced up over his shoulder from his place on the couch as Enzo came down the staircase.

"Not that it's any concern of yours but no," Enzo groaned "I'm worried about Rebekah."

"She'll be all right," Kol turned up his glass of bourbon "She always cares to much. For a vampire, she has far to much humanity for her own good."

"Freya _was _your sister," Enzo poured himself a drink "Don't have any feelings one way or another?"

"I barely knew her...She tried to destroy my family tonight," Kol downed another "Bringing up old stories, secrets that she thought would make us all turn on each other."

"And did it work?"

"Does it look like it did?" Kol shrugged.

"Well you _are _drowing yourself in bourbon mate, not that there's anything wrong with that," Enzo sat down on the other end of the couch.

"I'll have to answer to Elijah for my part in what Nik did," Kol stared into the burning embers of the fireplace "And then there are some things Nik and I have to discuss..."

"This is one messed up family," Enzo shook his head with a smirk.

"A thousand years of lies, betrayal, suffering," Kol poured another glass "That's just life as a Mikaelson."

"For a lot that betrays each other so much, you don't take much to outsiders," Enzo observed.

"Elijah!"

Klaus' scream startled them both. They stood and followed the screaming up the stairs and into Rebekah's room.

Klaus had Rebekah lying on the bed, which was already covered in blood that she was coughing up. She was pale and clammy, and her eyes were not open completely. Klaus was running his hand up and down the side of her face. For the first time in a long time, Kol saw true fear on Klaus' face.

"Elijah!" he shouted again, with desperation.

"What's going on?" Kol rushed to the other side of the bed.

Enzo stood in the doorway in shock. Frozen.

Elijah bolted into the room and his eyes widened with the gravity of it all. He was by Klaus' side in an instant.

"What the hell?" Kol furrowed his brow.

"Where is Freya?" Elijah asked immediately.

"I sent her body off with the guards to burn her," Kol insisted, his voice becoming more urgent.

Rebekah began to cough again and Klaus rolled her on her side.

"Rebekah," he squatted down on the floor so that he was even with her "You're going to be all right..."

"Hours ago? Was it not?!" Elijah's eyes burned with anger as he glared at Kol.

Kol had lost track of time. He had been trapped in his own thoughts. Klaus' betrayal, Finn's resurrection, Freya's death. It was a lot to take in. And then there were all those glasses of bourbon...

"Yes," he admitted "But I'm sure that they..."

"Finn got to her body," Elijah said assuredly "He must have."

"What's going on?" Marcel came charging into the room and he froze right beside Enzo.

"Marcel go get that_ bloody_ witch Vincent!" Klaus shouted orders "Kol, take Lorenzo and go search for the guards. Take the stake with you."

The stake had rolled out of the waist of Rebekah's pants and he tossed it to him from the bed. It was covered in Rebekah's blood and when Kol wrapped his hand around it he flinched.

"Don't kill him unless you have to," Elijah insisted "If you find him, we need him alive if at all possible."

Kol, Marcel and Enzo all fled the room after casting a final glance at Rebekah. The coughing had seemed to subside for the moment but Klaus continued to run his hand over her head.

"What's happening to me?" Rebekah asked softly but she sounded as if she were a million miles away, trapped in her own mind.

"Her body temperature is far to high," Elijah gauged after placing his palm on her forehead "If Finn was able to consecrate Freya's body..."

"Then she's trying to kill Rebekah," Klaus finished with horror on his face.


	17. Chapter 17

_I want to preface this chapter by saying a few things._

_I am not a Klamille shipper nor am I Cami's number one fan but I do feel she would have some part in all this so she will make an appearance in this chapter and a few others to come. As a minor player only._

_This started out as strictly as an Enzo/Rebekah story but it has turned into a full on Mikaelson family drama. I hope you all don't mind. Enzo and Rebekah will be the only romance however._

_Also, I'd love some more feedback. I see I have quite a few followers of this story. I'd love to know what you are enjoying. Which relationships you like to read about. Please share your thoughts with me! I love reading them. I want to tailor this story to what you all love to read about as well as express myself. So please feel free to share! Post anonymous if you feel more comfortable! :)_

* * *

"Exactly how does one consecrate a body?" Enzo pondered as he and Kol searched the woods "I have had little experience with witchcraft and sorcery..."

Kol looked over at him with disgust at his stupidity.

"You _bury_ it," he bit back firmly.

"And?" he shrugged, as he continued to look over every inch of earth he walked over.

"And you say a bloody witch chant, how the hell should I know? I've never attended one," Kol rolled his eyes, as he scanned the clearing they had reached.

"Rebekah told me that you were resurrected."

"I was consecrated a witch and woke up a bloody vampire..._Again_."

"And you would prefer the former?"

"What I would prefer is a life that doesn't put me at constant risk of being snuffed out in the night," Kol looked over his shoulder at him "But that doesn't seem likely."

"You seem to enjoy causing mayhem. Not exactly a way to avoid the whole snuffing bit," Enzo goaded him.

"If you are referring to your bite from Nik, I had no part in that."

"But you didn't stop it."

"Why should I? You're the one who antagonized him. I'm not one to defend others for their stupidity."

"Is it so stupid to want your sister to have a better life?"

"My sister is not as weak as you make her out to be," Kol kicked around some dirt piled up by a tree "I know Bex. In a few weeks, there will be another in your place. She's fickle, my sister."

Enzo started to protest but then he noticed Kol had stopped, frozen in his tracks.

"Damn it," Kol sighed.

Before them were four of the Mikaelsons' best sires, lying on the ground surrounded by blood seeping into the grass. Their hearts piled up in a neat stack.

"Finn!" Kol shouted out into the night "Come out of the darkness you bloody coward and face me!"

Silence. Nothing but frogs and crickets playing their nightly tune.

"Finn!"

Nothing.

"Come out your son of a bitch!" Enzo added, his voice echoing back to him.

"We have to figure out where he buried that body," Kol pulled his phone out of his back pocket and sighed when he saw there was no signal.

"If we find Freya's body, can we reverse what has happened to Rebekah?" Enzo was growing nervous.

"I don't know," Kol fidgeted with his phone "Stop asking me so many questions or I'll rip your tongue out!"

"She could _die_ Kol!" Enzo jerked the phone out of his hand as he held it up to try to pick up signal.

Kol snatched it back just as quick and shot him a glare that reminded him of Rebekah's eyes.

"You don't think I know that you _idiot_?!" he spat, but Enzo could see the concern on his face "If my sister dies, all hell will break loose. Originals don't just _die_! This whole family will go stark raving mad."

Enzo ran his hands over his face in frustration. Of all the people, why did he have to be paired off with Kol? He'd just as soon be trapsing through the marsh with Klaus.

"Come on," Kol shoved his phone back into his pocket "We need to get back to the compound. Perhaps Marcel has proven himself useful for once."

He stopped and looked back into the woods, his eyes scanning over the bodies one last time and his ears listening out for the slightest sound.

"Finn!" he shouted again his hand gripping the stake tightly as he pulled it from his jacket pocket "Wherever you are...We _will _find you! If she dies... Rebekah's blood will be on _your _hands!...I pity you Finn! I pity anyone who stands against us!"

With that, he turned and led Enzo out of the woods.

* * *

"How is she?" Klaus looked up from his seat as Elijah entered the study.

His perfect suit covered in blood from elbow to ankle. He held a cloth in his hands, wiping it from them methodically.

"She's finally resting now," he sighed "Anna agreed to sit with her for a while."

"Where is everyone?" Klaus stood and began to pace "We sent them all off hours ago."

"They will return when they find answers," Elijah sat down on a sette and tossed the cloth onto a table.

"What if there _are_ no answers Elijah?" Klaus turned around on his heels "What if there is nothing that can be done? What if our sister dies because of that blasted witch and her thirst for revenge?"

"Originals can only be killed one way," Elijah shook his head in confusion "A thousand years and we have never been told otherwise."

"All of the witches I have killed, powerful ones...Not once have I been affected this way," Klaus was just as confused "Not once have they been able to cause this level of harm."

"Perhaps Vincent holds the answers we need," Elijah stood "We will know soon enough. I'm going to go shower."

"Elijah," Klaus held out his arm to stop him.

The tension still held thick in the room but they had both been putting it aside given what was unfolding just down the hall.

"Yes, Niklaus?" he breathed out with exhaustion.

"For what it's worth brother," he shifted uncomfortably "About the bite..."

"Now is not the time, _brother_," Elijah answered without looking at him "We must focus on Rebekah. Her well being is one of the few things we_ can _agree on at the moment."

Klaus watched him walk out the door and he hung his head. Anger built up inside him and he reached for the nearest thing to him, a rather large chair. He hurled it against the wall with ease, causing a bookcase to crash to the thick carpet beneath it. He walked passed it and out onto his balcony, overlooking the quarter.

The city already looked different. The music below was slow jazz, the kind more suited for a funeral than a celebration. The streets were starting to empty. The moon wasn't visible in the sky, hidden by clouds rolling in from the west. He stood there, breathing in the humid air, his hands gripping the railing of the balcony tightly.

"Klaus?"

The familiar, concerned voice startled him from his thoughts and he turned to find Cami standing in the doorway.

"Camille," he said hoarsely with surprise.

"What is going on?" her eyes widened "I wanted to make sure everyone was all right after last night...There's blood everywhere in the hallway...What happened here?"

"My sister," he fidgeted, turning his back to her and looking back out into the night "My sister coiuld be dying."

"Freya?" Cami was confused.

She knew there was no call for Klaus to be that upset over Freya's well being. They were hardly close and he constantly made it clear she wasn't to be trusted.

"Freya's dead," he answered flatly "Rebekah killed her tonight..."

"Oh," Cami sank down on a seat on the balcony "Klaus...I..."

"And now it appears that Freya is trying to kill Rebekah from beyond the grave," Klaus turned to face her and Cami could see the glistening of tears in the corners of his eyes.

She knew he was trying desperately to hold them back but the weight of the world appeared to be on his thin shoulders.

"How is that possible?" she was bewildered.

"I don't know," Klaus continued to avoid her eyes "But I'm no fool. She _is_ dying."

"Klaus I'm so sorry," she shook her head "Is there anything I can do?"

"Yes," Klaus gathered himself "You can leave."

Cami was tkane back by his harshness. Defense mechanism, she told herself.

"I can't leave...Klaus you need to talk this out. Losing Rebekah will be an indescribeable loss for you," she shook her head as she stood to her feet "You have never dealt with something like this and..."

"Spare me the psycholgical drivel. This is not one of our sessions," he bit back "This is not some ideal that you can twist and turn and talk me out of...You _can't _make this better Camille."

The finality of his words ripped at her heart. She hated to see Klaus is so much silent pain. She knew what Rebekah's death would do to him. In their sessions since she left New Orleans, her name would often come up in passing as someone who had abandoned him, someone who didn't need him anymore, someone he was in constant fear of losing, by Cami's estimation. She had noticed the ebb and flow in his temper. When Rebekah was in town, he seemed more in control. Except for last night...

"Please, Camille," he walked over and cupped the side of her face "Please go home. Let me handle this my way. The less involved you are the better...We have no idea what we are facing."

She scanned his eyes for some hint that perhaps he wanted her to stay but she saw none. The tears that had been present in the corners of his tearducts were gone. Perhaps one had slipped down his cheek when she wasn't looking.

"Call me if you need anything," she pulled his hand down from her face "If _any _of you need anything."

And with that, she was gone.

Klaus turned back to the street below and after a while he felt an unusual gust of wind pass over him. It sent a shiver through his body and he tensed.

"Freya," he shook his head "You _will not _win. You _will not_ take Rebekah from me. I am Klaus Mikaelson! I will not be made a fool of, I _will not_ be bested by a traitorous witch!"

"You _have _been bested Mr. Mikaelson," Vincent's steady voice spoke from behind him.

He turned around violently and his eyes locked with the witch, Marcel standing behind him with a heartbroken look on his face. Klaus felt his stomach sink and what little heart he had left felt as if it were about to crack open.

Within a second, he had Vincent pinned against the far wall of the study by his throat. His eyes full of rage and frustration.

"Tell me what you know or I will torture it out of you!"

"Klaus!" Marcel pushed him back and Vincent fell to the floor clutching his throat and gasping "He is _not _the threat here!"

"Your sister," Vincent panted as he rubbed his aching throat "Your sister will die."

"Impossible," Klaus shook his head "There is only one way an Original can die and our family holds that card."

"Freya doesn't need the stake to end Rebekah's life," Vincent stood slowly "She is channeling the power of centuries of witches. She is the most powerful witch that ever existed, surpassing your mother. The spell she has cast on Rebekah is strong. She has tapped into dark magic with the help of the ancestors..."

"Death does not come easy to a Mikaelson," Klaus insisted "I don't believe your lies."

"They aren't lies, Klaus," Marcel took his shoulders in his hands "Vincent has seen Rebekah..."

"Who let him near her?" Klaus spat as he raised a concerned eyebrow.

"I had to see it for myself," Vincent spoke with more conviction "Her body is trying to rid itself of a substance, but the substance will continue to mutate and grow. Eventually, it will over take her."

"What substance?" Klaus glanced between the two of them.

"White oak," he answered flatly.

"That's ridiculous. The last of the white oak tree is gone...How could Freya possibly..."

"I told you, she's powerful. I imagine she had been planning this...She has her familial ties to all of you to draw additional strength and she has managed to cast a spell that _will_ kill your sister. It will be slow...agonizing. She will suffer."

"Lies!" Klaus spat "Where is Davina? She is the regent. If anyone can stop this, it is her! She can order the ancestors to cease this madness and end Rebekah's suffering!"

"Davina only has control over the living," Vincent insisted "She has no bearing on Freya. She was never a part of the coven. She broke off on her own. She was an outcast who apparently has found sympathizers on the otherside. Probably those harmed by your family."

Images of Genevieve, Sophie Devereaux, Josephine, Dahlia and his own mother filled his mind as he paced around the room.

"Get out!" he finally found his voice again "Get out! Send a warning to your witches, to all the covens. If someone doesn't step forward with a plan to save my sister, I will start making witches disappear. One by one. Is that clear?"

"Look, I'm sorry about Rebekah but this is a war that you don't want to start Klaus," Vincent backed up toward the door.

"Is that a threat Vincent? I assure you that you are in no position to make threats," Klaus' eyes blazed.

"You better go," Marcel said in a low voice.

"Yes, please go! Go and share my message. I _never_ go back on my word," Klaus finished, before turning and going back out onto the balcony.

Marcel followed him out once Vincent had left the room. There was a feeling of great desperation in the air as they stood side by side in the silence.

"She can't die," Marcel finally spoke, his hands gripping the railing so tight it was starting to bend beneath his strong hands.

"Well she is," Klaus turned to him "Rebekah is dying. We might as well prepare for it...You should go relieve Anna. She has been sitting with her for a while. She needs to tend to Hope for the night."

His demeanor had completely changed. His was emotionless, empty. Marcel felt sick to his stomach.

"I'll go," he managed to get out, trying his best to steady his shaky voice.

"I promised you this city Marcellus in exchange for your help over the last few months...It's yours now...Take it. Take it all..."

With that, he left Marcel alone with his grief. He sank to the ground. His eyes looking out over the city which was now finally his again.

But it didn't mean anything.

Not anymore.

Rebekah was dying.

And he had to convince Davina to try to help her.


	18. Chapter 18

In the middle of the night, Rebekah awoke to find nobody by her side. Her bedsheets yet again soaked in blood that she had coughed up through the night. She managed to pull herself up in the bed.

"Nik?" she cried but it only came out as a muffled, croaky whisper.

She heard the wind blowing branches outside her window as they scratched across the glass, illuminated by the moon.

"Lorenzo?" she tried, this time her voice cracking in the middle of his name.

With every ounce of strength she had, she managed to get out of bed and holding onto furniture make her way to the door. Once in the hallway, she glanced up and down searching for a familiar face.

"Nik?...Elijah?" her voice croaked again.

The hallway was dark, eerie.

Suddenly she coughed again, blood going all over a rug that lined the hallway. She managed to lean against the wall and once the coughing subsided, she took in a deep shaky breath.

"I can't die like this," she whispered to herself "Not like this"

She then began her slow decent down the hall and down the stairs. Crouching on the ground at times to pull herself along.

The courtyard was just as quiet. A sudden burst of energy pushed her to make it across the great space to the front gate.

Rebekah had made it out of the compound. Crawling on the ground sometimes if she had to when the pain became to much. Her finger nails ripped and jagged, her hands bleeding, coughs coming in waves that spewed blood onto the ground in front of her.

She hoped nobody realized she had escaped. She didn't want to die there. She didn't want anyone's pity. She wanted to die alone.

She made it at last into the woods although she wasn't sure how. The thin fabric of the nightgown Anna had dressed her in clung around her legs as she waded through the tall, wet grass. Her bare feet were covered in dirt, as she felt the mud seeping between her toes. Her face was gaunt, her eyes hollow, her hair stuck to her face, the golden strands striped with blood. She stumbled and tripped along the way, barely able to keep standing. The pain in her chest was so great, sometimes she would have to stop and double over to let the worst of it pass.

At last she reached a clearing and gasped with what little air she had left in her lungs. The bodies of her brothers' guards lying in red grass, their eyes open in horror and their hearts piled up beside them.

"No," she whispered to herself "No..."

She turned to run but when she did she felt her legs give out from underneath her and she fell roughly into the mud. The jolt of hitting the ground cause her to cough, blood spewing out in the grass, mixing with that of the guards nearby.

"Rebekah."

The voice sent a chill down her spine as she tried to gather herself to stand. She stood up slowly on extremely shaky legs and turned.

"Freya," she breathed out, her chest hurting to even speak.

Her supposedly dead sister stood there, staring at her. She was leaned against a tree, arms folded across her chest as if she had been waiting, watching her.

"Look what _you_ have done little sister," Freya shook her head with disapproval in her voice.

She was dressed in all black, her eyes glistening with life, a smile plastered on her full lips.

"Everything would have been so different if you had just listened to me," Freya moved closer.

Rebekah wanted to move but she couldn't. Her legs felt like they were stuck in quicksand.

"We could have had a full life together. I could have given you everything. A human life. A life with children and happiness and joy...for all of us. But you had to go and defend _him_. You had to defend that worthless, heartless, bastard brother of ours...And where is he now? He hasn't even visited you. He's staying away isn't he? He's left you _alone _to die."

Freya's eyes seemed to be on fire, blazing with anger. The closer she got, the more the fear trumped the pain in Rebekah's chest.

"No," she shook her head slowly, cold tears long since dried on her face "No, that's not true."

Freya reached out and ran her perfectly manicured hand over her sister's cheek. She smiled fondly at her, before it faded into a menacing stare.

"You _pulled_ my heart from my chest Rebekah," Freya moved her hand and placed it over Rebekah's heart "After you _broke it_...I suppose I should have expected it...It wasn't so long ago that Niklaus himself wanted to hunt you down and kill you for luring our father to town...You are so selfish."

She spoke so calmly, as if she were reciting a poem not tearing Rebekah's character apart. Rebekah wanted to push her away but she couldn't. She couldn't even form words any longer. It was as if she was under a spell, transfixed in place.

Freya tilted her head, scanning Rebekah's weak face.

"You looked me in the eye and ended my life without a second thought. Your _own _sister. I have _always_ been good to you Rebekah. When you wanted to resurrect Kol, I did it without a second thought because it was what _you _wanted. I saved your life when Eva tried to take over your body," tears sprung to Freya's eyes as her voice grew louder "I protected _you_! Always!"

"I'm, I'm sorry," Rebekah gasped for air, forcing the words to come out no matter how bad it hurt.

"I will do to you, what you did to me," Freya's fingernails dug into the bare skin of Rebekah's chest.

"No," Rebekah shook her head "Please.."

The anger disappeared from Freya's face and now she looked happy. Eager.

"Our poor brothers," she giggled as she pulled the white oak stake from a pocket of her dress "They will be _so _devastated...At least _one _of us will be mourned."

"Freya don't!"

Rebekah jolted up in bed, gasping for air. Her hand immediately went to her nose, feeling blood trickle down from it.

"Shh," she felt Enzo's hand on her other one, gripping it tightly "It's all right. You're all right"

Her eyes shifted over to his and she wrapped her arms around him with relief, pulling him close.

She looked so sick. Enzo had been watching her for hours, taking over for Marcel. Her face was sunken in, her skin pale, circles under her eyes as if she had been lying in bed for days.

"Lorenzo," she breathed into his neck.

"It's all right," he rubbed her back gently "I'm here with you...It was just a dream Rebekah...You're all right."

She finally let go, sinking back onto the mattress. Within a minute, she had closed her eyes and was asleep again.

Enzo's hand danced across her gaunt face and he felt his chest tighten. He had never known a feeling like this. Powerless to help the woman whom he had grown to love in such a short time. Rebekah Mikaelson had brought danger into his life but she had also brought purpose. He would be damned if he let it slip away.

* * *

Later during the night, Rebekah awoke to the feeling of a warm comforting hand gripping her cold one tightly. Her eye lids fluttered opened and she turned her gaze over to meet Elijah's concerned face.

"Elijah," she croaked out, her voice weaker than it had been hours earlier.

"Sister," he forced a smile, gripping her hand even tighter.

There was a long silence. Just the crippling rush of her breathing and the faint sound of her heartbeat that Elijah zeroed in on right away.

"I'm dying," she stared into his slightly teary eyes "Aren't I?"

"No," Elijah sat up straight, she could see the muscles in his neck and jaw tense "No Rebekah, of course not. This will all be taken care of soon and you will be back as you were."

"Don't patronize me," she shook her head "I have died once remember? I know what it feels like."

"You will _not_ die again," Elijah leaned closer, letting go of her hand and grabbing her chin gently between his fingers "You are _not _going to die. I will not allow it."

"My poor Elijah," she slowly took hold of his hand and pulled it away from her face "Ever the optomistic one..."

She began to cough again and Elijah quickly drew a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the blood from her mouth as if she were a child. Folding it in corners, and continuing to clean her face until all the blood was gone.

"You should rest sister," he whispered.

"Where's Nik?" she asked as her eyelids grew heavy again.

Throughout the night she had been watched over by Marcel, Enzo, Kol but she had yet to see Klaus' face.

He ran his hand over her hair as he stood and let out a sigh. The truth was he didn't know where Klaus was. He had left some time during the night and never returned. If Klaus missed Rebekah's final moments, he would never forgive himself. He would live with that regret forever. Despite all the anger he held for his brother, he did not want that to haunt him. Elijah silently cursed himself for thinking that way. There was still a chance that his sister would live. He had to think of that, cling to the hope that she would survive. The two women he loved most in the world were suffering. Although Hayley's pain was unimagineable, Rebekah's was much more urgent. For now, he had to focus all his energy on saving his sister's life. There would be time to deal with Niklaus and save Hayley once Rebekah was free from her own curse.

"Sleep now," he whispered.

Once he had closed the door and informed Anna it was her turn to sit with Rebekah, he made his way downstairs.

Marcel was having a hushed conversation with Kol but of course his hearing zeroed in immediately.

"She turned you down?" Elijah's eyes widened with dismay.

"Davina insists that she won't get involved in vampire business. Especially Mikaelson business. I've begged, I've promised her territory, I don't know what else to do."

Marcel was clearly worn down, exhausted and distraught. Elijah knew that Rebekah's loss would be a terrible blow to the new king of New Orleans.

"I'll go," Kol spoke up once silence had fell upon them.

"You?" Marcel snarled.

"Perhaps I can get through to her, in a way that you can't," Kol shrugged, reaching for his jacket on a couch nearby.

"Uh uh, that's not a good idea. You go trapsing up on her doorstep, a Mikaelson vampire, it won't end well. It'll push her even further away."

"What other choice do we have?" Kol raised his voice "My sister is _dying_! If I can somehow get through to Davina, I have to try...She cared for me once...Maybe she'll listen to me."

"You are not the sappy witch she remembers," Marcel insisted "You're just as cold blooded and cruel as you ever were."

"Let him try Marcellus," Elijah broke into the spat sternly "He is the only card we have left to play with Davina. If neither one of you can get through to her, then we have nothing left."

The three exchanged desperate looks. Elijah was speaking the truth. Without Davina's power, there was no hope in reversing Rebekah's fate.

"Come on," Marcel sighed.

Kol was out the door before him.

"You better be right," Marcel glared at Elijah "For Rebekah's sake...And yours."

* * *

Klaus sat on a bench inside the French Quarter. The same bench he sat on the night he learned he was to be a father. Where Elijah had found him and convinced him their family could start anew. Hope was a gift, he would never regret that but it was foolish of him to think that his family could coexist as one for very long. Especially when he began to notice the attraction between Hayley and Elijah.

He had destroyed the bond with his brother the night he had Dahlia place the curse on the wolves. He realized that now. No matter how hard he tried, he would never get that back. His plan to attack back was thwarted by Rebekah's illness. Now he had no energy to extract revenge on his brother. No desire. Marcel could have the city. Elijah could heal his werewolves. There would be a battle over his daughter, that could not be helped but Jackson would be easy enough to take down. Hayley would be the real threat. Which he would deal with when the time came.

Right now, all he could think of was Rebekah. Rebekah was dying. That little blonde haired girl he had held in his arms ten centuries ago was about to drift out of his life as quickly as she had drifted into it.

_The day she was born, all of his siblings had crowded around to take a look at their sister but it was he who had been the one to hold her first. Esther had placed her in his arms and smiled up at him as if she were the most caring mother in the world. At that time, he thought she was just that._

"_What's her name?" Klaus had asked with curiousity as he rocked her back and forth._

"_She hasn't a name yet Niklaus," Esther spoke softly "What would you call her?"_

_Klaus thought for a second as he stared into her eyes._

"_I don't know," he shrugged shyly._

"_Rebekah," Mikael's voice boomed from behind them "She will be named Rebekah...Come along children."_

_He ushered the rest of the boys out of the room and cast a disapproving stare at his wife for allowing Klaus to hold the baby, before leaving the hut himself._

"_Sit with me Niklaus," Esther took back the baby and Klaus sat down on the bed beside her "You know it is very important having a sister. You must look out for her."_

_Even as a young boy Klaus felt the weight of that responsibility._

"_All of your brothers must always protect Rebekah from harm, do you understand?"_

_He nodded slowly._

"_A girl's life is not the same as a man's," Esther seemed worried "She will have a different life than you."_

"_Will she be all right mother?" Klaus asked weakly, as he leaned over and lightly grabbed Rebekah's hand._

"_She will with you by her side," Esther tucked an arm around him "You have such a gentle heart Niklaus, I know that you will always take good care of her."_

"_I will," Klaus smiled down at her "I promise."_

Klaus caught himself reminiscing and quickly stood to his feet. He hurried across the quarter to a local dive bar and entered. There were several patrons nursing their last beers of the early morning hours and a bartender cleaning up. He locked the door behind him and grinned with anticipation. If there was nothing he could do to help Rebekah, he could continue to numb his feelings. What better way to do that than to take out a few innnocents. He would relish in it, make the deaths as slow and painful as possible. If his sister had to suffer, then so should they.

* * *

The sun was rising as Marcel and Kol reached Davina's home. The guards stiffened when they saw them and one of them stepped forward.

"I'm here to see Davina," Kol said defiantly, as if it were a simple request.

"Marcel, we have been told to turn you away," the guard insisted "So you and your friend here..."

"Wait."

They all looked up to see Davina standing in the doorway. Her eyes transfixed on Kol. She stared at him for a minute before moving to the top of the steps.

"You can come in," she motioned to him "_Just you_."

She glared at Marcel.

"You can wait here."


	19. Chapter 19

Marcel paced back and forth in front of the spooky house for a few minutes before his temper got the better of him. The cold eyes of the guards staring at him made him want to rip their hearts out but instead he turned and left. He wasn't helping Rebekah by standing around waiting on Kol.

There was one more piece to this puzzle. He pulled out his phone and dialed a number feverishly as he walked away from the home.

"What do you want?" a disgruntled Enzo answered, as he pulled the door to Rebekah's room shut to avoid disturbing her.

"Look, I know you and me don't see eye to eye but there's one thing we have in common. We want to see the people who did this to Rebekah pay for what they've done. Now if Kol is able to convince Davina to help reverse the spell, she's gonna need power. Lots of it."

"What are you driving at mate?"

"We have to find Finn. That bastard can be of some use and he damn sure is going to help us."

"How in the bloody hell do you plan on doing that?" Enzo all but laughed "That crazy son of a bitch is probably long gone. Believe me I'd like to string him up by his heels and torture him into all of eternity but..."

"Meet me at Rousseau's in ten minutes," Marcel sounded very sure of himself "If you want Rebekah to live, you'll do as I say."

* * *

"I must admit it's unnerving seeing you this way," Davina turned to Kol once they were alone in her study.

"Likewise," Kol nodded "You don't look like yourself either Davina."

Kol reached for an apple in a bowl on a nearby table. He almost bit into it and then he stared at it warily.

"Only witches in fairytales poison apples," Davina sneered "I would be much more lethal."

He bit into it and chewed it with an open mouth which caused Davina to look at him with disgust.

"What do you mean I don't look like myself?" she folded her arms across her chest with a raised annoyed eyebrow.

"You're all grown up," Kol smiled "Regent huh? You deserve it. Probably the most honest leader this lot has ever had."

Davina forced herself not to smile at his compliment. She sat down at her desk and motioned him to sit across from her.

"I don't normally see vampires," she informed him "Aside from Marcel...I already told him, I can't help you. My duty is to the covens. If they discover I'm helping vampires, especially Mikaelsons there would be hell to pay. I barely got Vincent in and out of the house without them finding out...I might even lose my place as Regent."

Kol finished his apple and tossed the core into a trashcan near the door. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and turned his attention back to her.

"Look love, I know that this is..."

"Don't do that," Davina shot him a dagger stare.

"Do what?" Kol held his arms out, confused.

"Don't call me love...What we had is over, got it?" she spat.

Somehow Kol didn't believe her but this was neither the time nor place to get into the specifics of their relationship.

"_Davina_," he said firmly "I understand that asking you to do this is putting you in great danger. Don't think that Marcel and I take this lightly, what we are asking of you is serious...My sister is dying."

"The same sister that you said got you daggered at Christmas, the same sister who always chose Klaus over you," Davina started to list Rebekah's faults.

"The same sister who held me in her arms as I died, the same sister who stopped at nothing to have me ressurrected...The same sister I grew up with, spent centuries wanting affection from...My family is on it's way to being whole Davina.,Eventually...If Rebekah dies...our family wil never recover."

"Are you saying she is the glue that holds the Mikaelson clan together? You're not helping your case Kol," Davina folded her hands across her desk "The destruction of the Mikaelson family could mean a total takeover for us."

"I'm asking you, as an old friend, as someone you once trusted so much," Kol leaned up in his seat til their faces were mere inches apart "Please save my sister. Just come and see her. See if there is anything you can do to help her."

The ticking grandfather clock in the corner felt like it was pounding in his ears. Time ticking away, precious seconds that they couldn't get back if Freya succeeded before he was able to convince her.

"Freya was very powerful," Davina sighed "So powerful that even I was afraid that one day she might storm in here and demand power over all the covens...I'm not sure that I could break a spell that is channeled by dozens and dozens of black magic witches."

"What can we do to help?" Kol could feel her breaking "We'll do anything."

Davina thought for a moment as she stared into his beautiful eyes. The man she knew was in there and the tiny spark of hope in her heart that she might be able to find him again took over what her head was telling her.

"I'll need to channel a massive amount of energy. I'll need you all there. As the oldest, most powerful vampires your mythical ties will be imperative."

"Done," Kol formed a smile on his lips.

"We must act quickly," Davina stood "Not a word to the covens, do you understand?"

"You're the only witch I have any reason to talk to," he stood to follow her out "The only one worth talking to anyway."

Davina was walking in front of him but she couldn't help but smile. She beckoned to Vincent who sat near the front door. He stood and took up stride beside her.

Kol grabbed an orange out of the bowl on the way out.

* * *

"She's asking for you."

Klaus tensed when he heard his brother's voice behind him. He had just spent the early morning hours draining all the bar patrons dry, after dismantling them of course.

"Yes, well, I'm very tired. I had a long night," Klaus smirked, turning to face him.

"Niklaus, our sister is on the edge of death. I would think the least you could do is make an attempt to comfort her," Elijah pointed his hand at him angrily.

"She doesn't need nor want my comforting," Klaus replied back "I've never been one for soothing souls."

"What is wrong with you, brother?" Elijah shook his head in dismay "Have you no feeling? No empathy for anyone but yourself? Rebekah is _dyi_..."

He didn't finish the word before Klaus closed the distance between them and pinned Elijah to the wall by throwing his arm across his neck. His eyes lit up with werewolf fire and Elijah mentally prepared for another bite.

"I know she is dying!" Klaus shouted "Do not tell me what I _do _and _do not _feel!"

He slowly released Elijah, who continued to stand against the wall. It all made sense now. Klaus was doing what he always did. Hide, run, ignore. All of these were better alternatives to feeling and caring.

Klaus hung his head with shame at his outburst, before finally backing up and turning away from Elijah. The two stood silent for a few moments before Klaus heard Elijah's shoes click across the floor as he left him alone. Alone and terrified.

* * *

Klaus' hand danced above the doorknob to Rebekah's room. He considered turning away, going to his chambers and drinking the last of his whiskey in the cabinet by his bed. Perhaps go out and find a lovely tourist to bring home and feed on. Then he thought of his sister's smile as they sat together on the roof and he knew he could not. Finally, his hand gripped the knob and he turned it slowly.

The room was dark, aside from the light that filtered in from the partly drawn curtain. Anna sat near the bedside, a drawing pad across her lap. She was hard at work with charcoal, lost deep in a sketch. When she finally saw Klaus, she stood and walked to the door.

"Your sister is very beautiful," she smiled softly "Sickness can not change that. She is strong even in the face of death...She's been looking for you."

Klaus glanced down at the open drawing pad in her hand and saw the sketch was a remarkable likeness to his sister. He reached out and tore the art out of the book. Anna didn't protest, she just watched. He stared at it for a moment before folding it and placing it inside his jacket pocket.

"Leave us please, Anna," he managed to speak "Do go check on Hope. She should be finished with her nap."

She nodded softly and left without another word.

Klaus walked slowly toward the bed. Fear bubbled up inside of him as he prepared to see her condition. He hadn't seen her since the spell first struck. The light was streaming across the middle of Rebekah's face and he saw the difference immediately. It made him turn his head away and compose himself. She barely looked like his sister. She was weak and feeble. She looked older, tired...

He closed his eyes tightly and again considered turning to go but his feet kept moving him closer to her bedside. At last, he was standing over her. She was sleeping. Her eyes sunken into her head, dark circles all around them as if she had been beaten. They slowly opened as she sensed him and looked up.

"Hello sister," he forced one of his typical smiles.

"Nik," she wheezed out "I thought you had fallen off this earth."

"No, to many's dismay I am still here," Klaus sank down on the bed beside her frail body "Still causing mayhem in the streets."

He watched as her tongue darted out and ran across her dry lips slowly.

"Are you hungry?" he raised an eyebrow.

Had those fools who had trapsed in and out not offered her blood?

She nodded slowly and he started rolling up the sleeve of his jacket. With one sharp bite, he opened the vein in his wrist and pressed it to her cracked lips. She drank slowly.

"Kol has went to Davina," he informed her as she drank "He seems to think he can beguile her into coming to your aid."

She finally pulled away from his wrist, after not drinking much at all. Klaus rolled his sleeve back down methodically.

"I doubt I will be here to see her," Rebekah whispered.

"Don't," Klaus glared at her "Don't talk like that to me. You can garner sympathies from others by speaking as if you are about to die, but _not me_."

"I don't want your pity Niklaus," she closed her eyes "I am speaking the truth."

Klaus felt tears forming in his eyes and this time he allowed them.

"We were fated to this life," she shifted uncomfortably in place "This _is_ my fate."

"If I had never come here, if _we _had never come back to this bloody city we would have never found Freya and..."

"And you wouldn't have your daughter," Rebekah reached out and entagled her fingers with his as his hand sat idley on the mattress.

Klaus sighed and dropped his head, two tears sliding off his cheeks onto their joined hands.

"Niklaus," she gripped his hand with all the strength she had "You will survive. You always do."

"I have never encountered this," Klaus clenched his jaw to hold back any more tears "Death is something that has always surrounded us...Something we have come accustomed to...But I never thought it would come for one of us...Survival is questionable...If our family is not intact."

"Family is power," Rebekah smiled "So Elijah says, always the prophetic one..."

She suddenly began to cough, so violently that it forced her to sit up and she felt the breath rush out of her lungs. She leaned against Klaus' chest as the coughs rattled her body.

"Bekah," Klaus breathed into her matted hair and she could hear the sadness in his hushed voice as his hand propped her up against him.

When she pulled back, blood in the corners of her mouth, she stared into his eyes and she could see how much he was hurting. She managed to place her weak hand on the side of his face.

He reached up and took hold of her hand. They sat there staring at each other. Neither one of them knowing what to say.

"Will you stay with me?" she asked after a long pause, her hollow eyes pleading.

He was reminded of her as a child, begging for his attention, his affection.

"Yes," he nodded, as she lowered herself back down onto her pillows "I"ll stay as long as you like."

There was a long silence. Just Rebekah's shallow breathing and Klaus' uncomfortable shifting on the bed. He felt powerless, for the first time in his life he felt like he could do nothing to rectify a situation.

"Do you remember when we were children?" Rebekah asked feabily trying to draw his mind away from his own cloudy thoughts "Do you remember how we used to play under the white oak tree?"

"As I recall you climbed that tree faster than any of the boys in the village," Klaus smirked, feeling the tension ease for a moment.

"And now it's killing me," Rebekah closed her eyes slowly and opened them again.

"Kol will prevail," Klaus insisted "Of that I have no doubt."

"When you're placing your trust in Kol, I know it must be bad," Rebekah whispered.

"Place your trust in Kol and ye shall be rewarded," Kol opened the bedroom door with a grin plastered on his face.

"What?" Klaus bellowed.

Kol turned to look behind him, Davina and Vincent stepped through the door with Elijah close behind.

"I've come to save your life," Davina answered flatly "This won't be easy and it's going to hurt...a lot."


	20. Chapter 20

"And are we to believe that this bewitching lot is here with good intentions?" Klaus stood from Rebekah's bed and pointed an accusing finger at Davina and Vincent.

"If you would prefer I leave and Rebekah die a slow, agonizing death, then I am happy to go," Davina glared at him "It makes no difference to me if your sister lives or dies. One less Mikaelson in the world to deal with."

Klaus' face twisted with anger. The idea that this conversation was going on in front of an already exhausted and confused Rebekah enraged him. He crossed the room and pushed the entire group of them out into the hall with one swift motion and shut the door. Perhaps her vampire hearing was impaired.

"My sister's life should be of the upmost importance to you seeing as how your very existence depends on it," Klaus scowled at her, his face inches from Davina's stoic one.

Kol pleaded with Davina with his eyes. If she let Klaus anger her, she would leave and he would never be able to get her back to help Rebekah.

An amused, confident smile spread across Davina's lips. She shook her head in amazement at the gaul of Klaus Mikaelson.

"_If _I'm going to help you, let's get _one thing straight_. There can only be one person in charge here and if you want her to live, it has to be _me_," Davina folded her arms across her chest "I will not stand here and take threats from a _pathetic vampire_ who can't save his own family!"

Klaus opened his mouth to spew another insult but Elijah stepped beside him.

"_Niklaus_," he warned him and his mouth snapped shut, although it was evident that it was very difficult to remain quiet and restrained.

"Davina is here as a personal favor to me Nik," Kol sighed flanking his brother's other side "She says she can undo Freya's spell and the way I see it she's the only chance we've got. Nobody else in the covens will come anywhere near us."

"What do we have to do?" Elijah questioned, moving closer to the young witch "We'll provide you with whatever you require."

"I'm going to have to channel all of your power. It may not be enough," Davina admitted "Vincent and I will have to perform the spell together...But first I have to get inside Rebekah's thoughts. Freya had to anchor herself in Rebekah's subconscious in order to make the spell work."

"So you're telling us that Freya is wreaking havoc in Rebekah's mind?" Klaus ran a hand over his face.

"She mentioned that," Kol interrupted and they all turned to him "She told Enzo that she had a dream where Freya lured her into the woods and tried to kill her."

"It wasn't a dream," Davina insisted "It was a vision that she purposely placed there to scare Rebekah and let her see that she's in control. As long as her body is consecrated, she has all the power."

"But you _can _save her?" Elijah asked with hopeful eyes.

"I need your mother's grimoire," Davina insisted "I need some time with it but I think I know what to do."

"I'll get it now," Elijah walked down the hallway and out of sight.

Klaus moved closer to Davina, each one shooting daggers at the other with their stone cold eyes.

"If my sister dies as a result of your incompotence, I assure you war will be declared on your covens. The casualties will be staggering."

"If your sister dies, I _assure you_ it will be because your power as a family is too weak to save her...I don't take kindly to threats anymore, Klaus. Perhaps the casualties in your family will continue to rise. I will, after all, learn the intricacies of Freya's spell."

Davina brushed past him and into Rebekah's room. Kol placed his hand on Klaus' shoulder hoping to ground him but Klaus just shrugged him away roughly.

When she reached the end of the bed, a little gasp escaped from Davina's lips. She knew Rebekah to be a staggering beauty, strong and fierce and sometimes quite the bitch but stunning all the same. Now she looked old and weak, her skin tinted with blood and her hair a mess. She felt a tug of empathy for her and sat down on the bed.

"Rebekah," she found herself smiling down at her "How are you feeling?"

"In my thousand years on this earth," Rebekah whispered "I have never experienced torture like this."

Klaus and Kol exchanged painful looks as they stood at the end of the bed next to Vincent.

"I'm here to help you," she took hold of Rebekah's frail hand "But first I have to go inside your mind. It's going to hurt."

Rebekah nodded her approval, as another trickle of blood came down from her nose.

Davina closed her eyes and started to chant softly, then it grew louder. Rebekah's face twisted in agony, her eyes tightly clamped shut as the waves of pain went through her body. Finally she stilled, as if she were sleeping.

Blood began to slowly leak out around her eyes and Klaus stiffened.

"Don't," Vincent stuck his hand out when Klaus moved toward the bed "If you stop it, your sister's as good as dead."

"Niklaus," Elijah walked into the room "Perhaps you should go check on Hope."

Everyone in the room, aside from the two women on the bed, stared at Klaus with a concerned expression.

"Brother," Klaus sighed motioning to Rebekah who continued to bleed as Davina chanted even louder.

"It is difficult for all of us, Niklaus but this _must_ be done in order to save her life," Elijah insisted calmly "Please relieve yourself of your vigil, brother. Go check on your daughter."

Klaus cast one glance at Rebekah before storming out of the room.

"He's a ticking time bomb," Kol whispered to Elijah as they watched Davina work "If he offends Davina, she will be gone and..."

"We must keep him away, until he is needed," Elijah pulled the grimoire from under his arm "Whatever lies within these pages has to put an end to this madness. We must reign in Klaus' temper as best we can."

Vincent took the book from him and sat down in the corner, studying over each page carefully. Finally, he held his hands up over the pages and began a soft chant of his own.

The brothers continued to stare at Rebekah and Davina with both of their minds spinning wondering what was going on inside Rebekah's head.

* * *

Davina entered inside Rebekah's subconscious. She found herself in an open field with tall grass and what appeared to be wheat growing in abundance. She could hear the soft rushing of a stream and feel the sunshine on her face.

"Fancy seeing you here."

She turned to find Rebekah.

She looked beautiful. Her blond hair swept to the side of her neck. Her dress simple and pale blue.

"Is this where you grew up?" Davina began to walk closer to her.

"Yes," Rebekah smiled "This is my safe place, by this brook, in this field. Some of my favorite childhood memories are stored here...Despite everything that happened soon after."

"Does Freya ever find you here?" Davina raised an eyebrow.

"No," Rebekah admitted "Not yet anyway."

Before Davina could ask more questions, she heard the giggle of children. She turned to see five young kids rushing through the tall grass, chasing one another. The little blonde girl was giggling the loudest, dodging the reach of her older brothers.

"Is that, is that Kol?" Davina smiled, watching as a little boy not much older than Rebekah catch hold of his sister from a hiding place and pulled her to the ground.

"Yes," Rebekah giggled "He was always the trickster, even then."

Davina continued to watch them. Young Klaus, young Kol, it was all quite amazing. They were all so sweet and simple.

"We were good once," Rebekah spoke softly "Before the world tainted us, made us what we became. We were normal children. We loved each other without condition, without conflict."

"I'm sorry this was taken from you," Davina turned back to her "I know what it's like to lose your childhood, the innocence that comes with that."

Rebekah dropped her head and turned, walking toward the brook. She crouched down on the grass and lightly ran her hand through the water. Davina followed, feeling guilty that she was going to have to end this beautiful dream.

"Rebekah, we have to find Freya," she crouched beside her "We have to go to the place you don't feel safe."

Rebekah nodded.

"Where do you store your fear?" Davina whispered "Where are you most afraid?"

* * *

"I had a feeling that Elijah would send for you?" Klaus smirked, as he stood over Hope's crib.

He turned the dial on the mobile that floated over the bed and soft music began to play, immediately lulling his daughter to sleep. He turned to find Cami standing in the partially opened doorway.

"He is concerned that you will upset Davina and she won't reverse the spell," Cami sighed "I told him that you had said no visitors but he insisted..."

"Of course he did," Klaus sat down in the rocking chair by the crib and motioned for her to sit in another padded rocker on the other side.

"Klaus, you can't make Davina angry," Cami said firmly "I know her, or I did knew her before all of this...She is smart, she's determined but most of all she's fearless. She's one of the few people I know who isn't afraid of you."

Klaus repositioned himself in the rocker and folded his hands over his chest.

"She should be," he insisted "Everyone should."

"Should I?" Cami raised an eyebrow, even though she knew the answer.

"I have been known to hurt those I care about," he glanced out the window "Often those are the ones I hurt the deepest."

"Is that what you're thinking about?" Cami sat up on the end of her seat "Are you rehashing all of the animosity that existed between Rebekah and you over the years?"

"A millenium of memories would take far too much time," Klaus smiled smugly.

"Don't do that," she shook her head "Klaus, there are few things I know for sure about you. I know that you are smart. I know that you aren't as tough as you want people to believe. I know that you will kill to get what you want...But most of all, I know you love your family. I know that you would lay down your own life for them. Rebekah, Elijah, Hope...You would give up everything for them."

Klaus studied her face and his own features twisted with disgust. He payed her for her time when he genuinely wanted to be analyzed but now she was showing up without being invited and forcing truths on him he didn't want to face.

"You are afraid that Rebekah will die and they will all blame you. You're afraid that they will all secretly wish that Freya had plunged that stake into your heart...Perhaps that's what you wish too...It is, isn't it? The pain Rebekah is in, makes you wish you had just sacrificed yourself. That everyone would be better off with your sister here and you gone, than the other way around."

"Enough," Klaus' eyes fell to the ground "I promise I will stear clear of Davina until I am needed for her little counter active spell so there is no need for you to remain here, Camille."

Cami stood to her feet and let out a heavy sigh.

"You know I'm right," she whispered "You know that you have to face that, Klaus. Your inability to see the purpose within yourself. Every member of your family needs each other. Anyone can see that. You are strong and powerful when you're fighting on the same team. Now you just have to fight together to save one of your own."

Cami let herself out and Klaus leaned his head back against the rocker, the music of the mobile still floating softly through the room.

* * *

"So what's your big plan?" Enzo sat down at the bar at Rousseau's taking the glass of whiskey that Marcel offered him from behind the counter.

"There's only one other way to take down an Original besides the white oak stake. A way that is temporary but it renders the recipient helpless, immoble, dessicated and trapped within themselves," Marcel poured himself another shot.

"Klaus' daggers," Enzo sat his glass down "Rebekah did mention those."

"Well," Marcel reached into his back pocket and prouced a silver dagger that glinted in the light "I have one."

"So your plan is for us to track down Finn, stick that dagger in his chest, drag him to the compound..."

"And let Davina channel his power to complete the spell," Marcel finished for him "She's going to need the power of every Original if she has any chance of breaking the curse on Rebekah."

"And how do you plan to locate Finn?" Enzo raised an eyebrow "GPS perhaps?"

Marcel glared at him.

"I've had my guys on the ground all night and this morning searching. They followed a trail they believe to be Finn into the bayou. My guess is he retreated to the only place he knows at all..."

"Freya's shack," Enzo flinched "He went back there."

"And we're going to go get him," Marcel tucked the dagger back into his pocket "I'm not letting Rebekah die while he hides out in the woods like the coward that he is."

"Then by all means," Enzo stood "Let's go catch ourselves an Original."

* * *

"This is where you feel most afraid?" Davina glanced around the hut Rebekah had led her into.

"This is where we turned into vampires, Nik and I," Rebekah walked over to the fire crackling in the fireplace and stoked it slightly with a makeshift poker.

"I don't understand," Davina shook her head.

"You said it best," Rebekah stood up and faced her "Our innocence was taken from us the night our parents turned us. The fear I felt inside was stronger than any fear I have ever felt."

"Does she come here?" Davina ran her hand along the smooth walls of the hut.

"Yes," Rebekah nodded "She likes to taunt me here."

"I believe the word for a person like you is tattle tale..."

They both turned their heads to find Freya standing in the doorway. She was dressed in a brown dress, similar in style to Rebekah's and a grin was across her face.

"Freya," Davina narrowed her eyes.

"Welcome to our little corner of the asylum Davina Claire," Freya laughed "I've been waiting a long time to meet you."


	21. Chapter 21

Vincent stopped chanting and rested his hands on an open page in the grimoire. He opened his eyes and scanned it carefully.

"What did you find?" Kol stared him down eagerly.

"There are pages missing here," Vincent ran his finger along the spine of the book "Pages that have been ripped out."

"Do you mean to tell me the spell you need to save my sister's life lies within pages that have been stolen?" Elijah's jaw tensed as he walked toward Vincent.

"Yes," he anwered quickly "Several spells are missing, one of them being the spell to reverse this possession."

"Damn it," Kol slammed his fist into the wall "What do we do now? Sit around and wait for her to die?"

"Can a locator spell be performed on the pages?" Elijah was trying to think rationally.

"Perhaps, but I would need something that belonged to the person who took them," Vincent glanced over at Davina who was lost in concentration.

"The necklace," Kol noticed the light glint on the necklace that Rebekah had fastened around her neck after she took it off Freya's body.

"Given that Freya is no doubt the culprit, would her necklace suffice?" Eljah asked hopefully.

"It should be enough," Vincent nodded "But we must wait until Davina comes out of her trance before we can break the bond between them."

* * *

"I wondered when our paths might cross," Freya shut the door to the hut "Although I admit I had hoped under better circumstances...My sister thought otherwise, didn't you my sweet Rebekah?"

Rebekah tensed as she stood beside Davina, but the regent witch was not to be intimidated.

"Well now that we've met, I have to say I'm not impressed," Davina raised a judging eyebrow.

Freya laughed, the laugh of a mad woman. It sent a chill up Rebekah's spine.

"You should be," Freya walked closer "You may be New Orleans' regent but I assure you baby witch, I am far more powerful than you will ever be."

"Living one year of each century doesn't give much time to hone your craft," Davina glared at her "I have had years of experience practicing my magic, I have gained magic from the ancestors and most of all, I have studied that grimoire just as much as you."

"Is that so?" Freya folded her arms across her chest "So you know all my mother's spells? Knowing the spells and performing them are two different things Davina. They require strength that I'm afraid you just don't possess."

She slowly walked passed them to the fire, waving her hand in front of the flames causing them to jump higher and within the flames Rebekah could see Elijah and Kol leaning against her bedroom wall. She could see Davina sitting on the bed, clasping her hand. It truly was an out of body experience.

"Try all you want Davina," Freya turned back to them "You will not be able to save my sister. As it should be. She will be trapped in torment with me. I"ll make sure of it. She was at one time a witch, a little loophole I can use in order to keep her here...You said it yourself, one less Mikaelson in the world."

"There _is_ one less Mikaelson," Davina waved her hand to make the images in the flames disappear "That happened the minute Rebekah ended your miserable life."

"My life was far from miserable," Freya spat.

"Really? You're _jealous_, Freya. You've been jealous of Rebekah since the moment you met her," Davina could sense it now "Everything you've done, everything you've said as been a lie."

It rolled off Freya in waves. The way she glared at Rebekah, the way she had weakened her and insisted on dragging out her demise. Even here in this dream state, Rebekah looked weak and tired.

"She had the love of your brothers," Davina continued watching Freya flinch "The bond with your mother when she was a child, she was the one who got to grow up with Mikael, not you. Rebekah is everything you want to be. She is the one with immortality. She is the one who has experienced love and adventure, while you lay locked in a glass coffin."

"Shut up," Freya narrowed her eyes at Davina.

"You know I'm right," Davina nodded confidently "And you know I can break your spell and _I will_."

Freya grabbed Rebekah and thrust her right arm into the fire. Rebekah shrieked in pain as the flames went up her arm.

"You better hurry baby witch," Freya grinned "Clock's ticking."

Davina's eyes jolted open and she let out a gasp. She watched Rebekah carefully, her face grimacing in pain before her own eyes opened.

"It's ok," Davina gripped her hand even tighter, reaching out and wiping the blood that had ran down from her eyes.

"What happened?" Elijah rushed to stand on the other side of the bed, sinking down onto the mattress and catching Rebekah's weak gaze. He looked down and saw burns forming on his sister's arm, slowly climbing up toward her shoulder.

"She's evil," Davina shook her head "We don't have much time."

"Did you find what you need?" Vincent stood and walked toward her.

"I know her weakness," Davina looked up at him "I know what she's most afraid of..."

"We've only got one problem," Vincent held the grimoire out "That spell is missing. Ripped out."

"Can you find the pages?" Elijah asked hoarsely, his eyes trying to avoid the burns on Rebekah's arm that continued to form.

"Use Freya's necklace," Vincent motioned toward Rebekah's neck "We've gotta find that spell."

* * *

"How does one sneak up on an Original?" Enzo pondered, as he and Marcel trudged through the woods.

"He'll know we're coming," Marcel looked over at him "You've gotta prepare for the fight of your life."

Enzo watched Marcel as he moved forward, no fear on his face just determination.

"You love her," Enzo observed "So much that you're willing to die for her."

"You must feel the same, other wise you wouldn't be here," he said over his shoulder, avoiding his eyes.

There was an uncomfortable silence for a while.

"We were gonna get married," Marcel finally broke the tension "Have a life. Be together...Klaus wouldn't hear of it...If we are able to save her, he'll do the same to you."

"Of that I have no doubt," Enzo smirked "But I am not one to back down from what I want."

"Neither am I," Marcel looked over at him and Enzo knew a challenge had been issued.

"Well, well, well," they heard a familiar voice behind them and they both froze.

They turned slowly to find a grinning Finn standing in an open spot in the brush.

"I knew it wouldn't be long til you lot came looking for Freya. I will never reveal her resting place, so you might as well be on your way before I rip your pathetic hearts from your chests and leave you here to rot."

"Your sister is dying," Marcel squared his jaw "Does that mean nothing to you?"

"My sister is dead," Finn spat "Rebekah lost the right to be my family the moment she took Freya from me."

"You've known Freya a matter of weeks, you've known Rebekah your whole life," Enzo growled "She is your sister, whether you want to claim her or not. She was merely defending your brother."

"The brother who boxed me up for nine centuries, the brother who had no remorse, shed not one tear when I died. Burned into ash on the stairs of a bar...A brother who cared nothing for me. Why should I be impressed by Rebekah's choices? If anything, that makes her all the more the enemy."

"If Rebekah dies, the number of enemies you have will be staggering," Enzo shook his head.

Finn laughed.

"And I am to be afraid of you two? Mere vampires with beating hearts that can be removed in a matter of seconds? Two fools in love with the same wench."

"Not just us," Marcel glared at him "Klaus, Elijah and Kol will stop at nothing to destroy your life. And I'll be there every step of the way."

"I'd like to see them try," Finn glared "They won't kill me until they find Freya...Let Rebekah turn to dust. That bitch deserves what she gets."

Marcel lunged at Finn, and he was able to throw him over his shoulder with ease onto the ground. Marcel got up quickly and grabbed him by the neck, kicking his knees out from under him and causing him to fall hard to the earth.

"A little rusty?" Marcel stood over him with a smirk.

Finn jumped up and rushed him, knocking him to the ground. Marcel eventually got the upper hand and sat on top of him. Finn reached up and plunged his fingers into Marcel's chest. Marcel cried out in agony as he felt the fingers search through his body.

Suddenly, Marcel felt the strong grip of Enzo's hands on his shoulders pulling him off Finn and away from his clutches. Finn jumped to his feet and threw Enzo against a tree, a branch piercing straight through his leg.

Marcel had regained his strength by that time and he charged Finn again, knocking him back onto the ground. The two wrestled for control, jabbing and punching at each other.

Enzo pulled his leg free from the branch with a loud howl of pain and felt into his back pocket to make sure the dagger was still tucked away there.

Finally, Marcel pinned Finn to the ground but he knew in a matter of seconds he would get free. He had battled Klaus many times, he knew how quickly the tables could turn when you were fighting that kind of power and resiliance. Finn reached up and again went for his heart.

"Now!" Marcel shouted, as Finn's fingers dug through his rib cage.

Enzo rushed up behind them and jabbed the dagger into Finn's chest. Marcel lurched back away from Finn's recoiling hand and gasped for air.

They stood up and watched as Finn's skin turned grey and dessicate in seconds.

"Well look at you, you miserable bastard," Enzo smirked "Looks like you'll be helping your sister after all."

* * *

"It's not working," Davina sighed, as she looked up from the circle of candles she had created to help channel her spell.

She dropped the necklace onto the floor and held her head in her hands.

"It must not have been Freya who stole them," she shook her head "Has anyone else been allowed access to the book?"

"No," Elijah leaned against the wall "I keep that book under lock and key, hidden away. Nobody else has seen it."

"Great, just bloody great," Kol stood up from the bed where he had been sitting with Rebekah "The spell is missing and Elijah's secret hiding spot is apparently not that secret. It could have been anybody!"

"We come baring gifts," Marcel opened the bedroom door.

"_The_ gift," Enzo corrected him, as he walked in with Finn thrown over his shoulder.

"I'd hardly call our traitorous brother a gift," Kol sneered.

"More power to channel," Marcel smiled at Davina "Now you will have the power to channel all of the Originals."

"There's just one problem," Davina stood up from her circle "The spell is missing."

"What?" Marcel's eyes widened with fear "What do you mean it's missing?"

"The pages have been ripped out," Vincent walked forward "Torn away, I assume to insure that we wouldn't be able to to rectify the spell."

Enzo dropped Finn's cold body onto the floor with a loud thud and reached into his jacket pocket. Before he and Rebekah had left the shack, he had nabbed the pages that Rebekah said came from her mother's grimoire that Freya had lying around.

"Wouldn't be these would it?" he held them up.

Davina rushed over and jerked them from his hand. She quickly scanned the first spell and then handed it over to Vincent with a smile.

"How did you get those?" Elijah asked warily.

"We found them at Freya's, when Rebekah and I were trapped there. She recognized them as being your mother's handwriting, thought I'd bring them along in case they were of some use."

"They are," Davina sighed with relief "This is the spell we need."

She and Vincent immediately went to work reading it over carefully standing by Rebekah's bedside.

"Go fetch Niklaus," Elijah turned to Kol "It's time to end this."

* * *

Kol rushed down the hall to Hope's room, only to find Anna sitting by his niece's bedside.

"Where's Nik?"

"He retired to his bedchamber," Anna sighed "He's so distraught. I'm afraid of what he might do."

Kol quickly left and rushed further down to Klaus' room, throwing open the door. The curtains fluttered in the breeze as he rushed to the balcony. He found Klaus standing outside, on the ledge, peering down on the street below.

"What are you doing, you idiot?" Kol spat.

He could see an empty bottle of bourbon on the ground, as well as a bled dry woman next to it. Her neck had been ripped open, blood smeared down her cheeks from her eyes.

"Let me guess," Klaus said in a crushed voice "Davina has failed, as I suspected...Are we all to stand around Rebekah's bed and wait it out?"

His speech slurred worse with every word and Kol hung his head in disappoinment.

"Get down from there you fool," he sighed, reaching up and jerking a very unsteady Klaus down onto the balcony floor "We have everything we need for the spell. We just need you."

Klaus' eyes widened but were still brimmed with tears and the smell of alcohol on his breath was staggering, even to Kol.

"She has the spell?" he asked, as if he hadn't heard a word Kol said.

"Yes," Kol gripped his brother's shoulder "Now come on, we haven't much time left."

Klaus stood frozen, his gaping mouth shut at last and he glanced over at the mess he had made on the balcony.

"Come on, Nik!" Kol shook him "Whatever kind of daze you are in, get on with it and let's go!"

Klaus dropped his empty glass to the floor with a crash and followed his baby brother.


	22. Chapter 22

When Klaus and Kol got back to the bedroom, Davina and Vincent were already flanking Rebekah's body on both sides.

"We have to do this._ Now_," Davina said firmly, reaching up and grabbing Elijah's hand.

All Enzo and Marcel could do was wait, both of them leaning against the wall with nervous expressions on their faces, that they tried to hide behind their hands.

"Here," Vincent reached out and took hold of Klaus' hand roughly "Grab onto Kol."

Kol linked his hand with Klaus cautiously and they both exchanged a skeptic look.

"What about Finn?" Elijah motioned to the body on the floor.

"Put your foot on him," Davina commanded "Kol you do the long as there is some sort of connection between you, the circle will work. We're only channeling his energy. He won't be involved."

"Seems fitting," Kol snarked, as he shoved his boot in the middle of Finn's stomach.

"Now close your eyes and concentrate. You will all be going into Rebekah's subconscious. Let Vincent and I worry about the spell, just do your best to engage Freya and keep her preoccupied so we can work. Keep Rebekah protected."

"Done," Klaus quipped "Get on with it."

Davina and Vincent bowed their heads and began to chant together in unison.

Klaus slammed his eyes shut after taking one last glance at his sister. She was fading fast. Her skin almost completely ashen now from the white oak. Davina was right, there wasn't a moment to lose.

In a matter of seconds, they were all transported to the hut in Mystic Falls. Freya had Rebekah's arm still held in the fire and she was screaming out in agony.

"Rebekah," Klaus rushed forward first, reaching out to grab his sister away but he was grabbing at air.

"You can't touch her here," Freya smiled confidently, jerking Rebekah's arm back out and tossing her to the ground "She's all alone...My sweet little sister."

"She's _our _little sister," Elijah stepped forward "You are _not_ a part of this family."

"Oh there's no denying me Elijah," Freya walked toward him "I have the same blood flowing through my veins as all of you...Well, most of you."

She cast a sneer at Klaus who stiffened at the insenuation.

"I was apart of this family long before any of you were even thought of," Freya looked around the room "_I am the first born_. If it weren't for me, none of you would be here. It was _me_ who was taken by Dahlia so that you all might live!"

"We had no part in your suffering," Elijah shook his head slowly "We knew nothing of you and your plight."

"And even if you did," Freya shook her head "Would you have looked for me? Saved me from the torture I endured?"

Everyone continued to stare at her, blank expressions. No hints of empathy or solidarity or even the slightest tug of emotion. Freya dropped her eyes to the ground.

"I knew you would all come," Freya shook her head at last "All of you riding in to save the day. To save Rebekah...Poor, defenseless, Rebekah."

She reached down and pulled Rebekah to her feet, so weak she could barely stand. She held her by the hair at the nape of her neck.

"We're not so different, Rebekah and I. We both have a brother that we love the most, that we value above all others," she glared right at Klaus.

Klaus felt as if he couldn't breathe, as he stared at Rebekah unable to even keep her eyes open. Her skin was still covered in burns and not healing as it should be.

"We both would do anything for them...Even killing our own siblings," Freya finally caught his gaze.

"It would interest you to know that Finn, is still very much alive Freya. We have not harmed him," Elijah countered.

"And yet he lies daggered," Freya scoffed "My link to the very tangible world you live in is still intact when it comes to my brother."

"But for how long?" Klaus shrugged regaining his composure "How long until you have lost this war Freya? Is your intention to take us all out one by one? A rather large task for a dead witch."

"But not an impossible one," Freya threw Rebekah to the ground again.

All three brothers flinched this time when they heard Rebekah moan quietly in pain.

"I am perfectly capable of killing you all. And I will. It will take time, yes, but when you are in my situation, time means nothing. Rebekah is just the most pertinent," Freya looked down at her "And currently the most deserving."

"If you kill Rebekah you are killing the most innocent of this entire family," Elijah moved closer to her.

"Innocent?" Freya laughed, the crazed kind that she had become known for in the last twenty four hours "Innocent? She murdered me! Ripped out my heart! She's a vampire. She killed hundreds, maybe thousands of people in her lifetime and yet you dare to call her innocent?"

"She is compared to us," Kol finally found his chance to speak, unable to listen to her blather on a second more "Nik, Elijah and I are far more threatening. She somehow manages to see the good in each of us even when we lack the ability to see it in each other."

"Listen to you," Freya folded her arms across her chest "Be careful Kol, your sweet little witch side is showing...Aligning yourself with the enemy again are you? Do I need to remind you what has been done to you?"

"I need no reminder. My hatred for you far outweighs my disappointment in Nik," Kol spat back with a stony expression.

Freya was taken aback by Kol's quick reply and licked the smirk off her lips. There were a few seconds of silence, nothing but the fire crackling and Rebekah's incoherent moaning.

"So did you all come here to convince me to let her go?" Freya glanced around at them "Because if so, I think we are done here."

She reached down and grabbed Rebekah up, her breathing rattling deep in her chest.

"Where are you taking her?" Elijah stepped in front of her.

"Wherever I like," Freya smiled "In a matter of minutes, she will be mine. I will control her for all of eternity here, in this place you cannot visit again. Rebekah will be dead. Lost to you forever."

"Rebekah," Klaus rushed toward the door that Freya was planning to make her escape through.

Suddenly, the walls of the hut began to shake violently. Freya dropped Rebekah and clutched her head, screaming out in pain.

"Enough!"

Next to the fireplace stood Davina. She looked confident and Klaus felt himself let out a breath he had been holding in for far too long.

"You just couldn't give it up," Davina shook her head, as she walked to where Freya had fallen to her knees "Your thirst to torture Rebekah. Your desire to hurt the family you never knew...You let your hatred of everything Rebekah had blind you from the truth that was right in front of you. While you stood here arguing with your brothers, I have found the key to your undoing..You wanted to make them pay, but it is you who will pay Freya."

"You are no match for me," Freya managed to groan, as the pain in her head grew worse.

She tried to raise her hand for a counter attack but her power felt drained from her body. Useless.

"Really?" Davina smiled "_I am _if I found the spell to reverse what you've done. I will save Rebekah and destroy your ability to ever do this again..You, _old witch_, are no match for this _baby witch_."

Davina raised her hands and began to chant loudly. The walls continued to shake. The fire went out in the fireplace. A bright light began to shine in through the only window in the hut.

Rebekah's skin began to lose it's gray color, a slight flush began to return to her cheeks. The burns slowly began to disappear.

"No," Freya growled reaching out to grab hold of her sister "No! You will not win! You all have taken _everything_ from me. You will not get away with this!"

"Oh my darling Freya," Klaus tilted his head to stare down at her "We already have."

He reached down and this time, his arms were able to scoop up Rebekah from Freya's weak grasp and hold her close to his chest.

"You will be alone Freya," Elijah pushed Klaus behind him "Locked in this place that has caused so much pain. As it should be...Always and forever."

"That's the only time I will ever hear those words from any of you," Freya scoffed at the irony, as one tear slid down her cheek.

Davina began to chant even louder and suddenly the room felt like it was spinning. The door to the hut flew open and Davina began to motion everyone out. Klaus carried Rebekah through, followed by Elijah and Kol. As Davina moved to exit, Freya grasped hold of her ankle with what little strength she had left.

"You can't leave me here. You are siding with vampires! Against your own kind!"

"You are not my kind. Nobody intimidates me," Davina kicked her ankle free and slammed the door behind her.

* * *

Everyone let out a gasp, as they came back to reality surrounding the bed.

"What happened?" Marcel rushed toward Davina "Did it work?"

"Look," Enzo motioned to Rebekah lying on the bed.

Her skin was returning to a normal color, the years that had been added to her appearance seemed to be melting away. Finally, her eyes flew open and she sat up in the bed. She let out a violent cough that sent ashes flying onto the blanket that covered her.

"The white oak," Vincent looked amazed as he shared a glance with Davina.

Rebekah coughed again, more ash floated out and then she took in a deep breath. The ash seemed to disappear as quickly as it came.

"Sister?" Elijah sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Elijah," Rebekah breathed out with a smile on her full lips and flung her arms around his neck.

"It worked," Davina sighed, standing up from the bed and walking over to the window.

Enzo and Marcel shared relieved glances with each other then almost instantly seemed to retreat to neutral corners.

Klaus retreated to another corner, far away from Rebekah's bed. His whole body was still trembling from what had happened. His brain spinning with the thought that just minutes ago his sister was dying and now there she sat.

"There is still work to be done," Vincent looked across the bed at Elijah "You have to get Finn to tell us where Freya's body is buried. This spell has been stopped but with Freya able to draw magic from the city and all of you...She will come up with another way to attack your family and the covens for what Davina has done here tonight."

"I'm sure we can come up with a way to torture it out of him," Kol smirked, pushing his body across the floor as he finally remembered to remove his foot from him.

"Davina," Elijah stood from the bed and walked over to the window where she stood staring out onto the city street "I cannot thank you enough for your generosity tonight."

"I did what I thought was right," Davina jerked her head around to look him in the eyes "And judging from her behavior, Vincent is right. Freya is a threat to the covens. As regent, I have to look out for my people...But they must never know that I was here tonight."

"You have my word," Elijah assured her.

"We need to leave," Davina reached for her jacket "We've been here far to long...Rebekah, I'm glad you're safe."

"I will never be able to thank you," Rebekah smiled weakly "Letting a Mikaelson live to see another day is quite the gracious gesture."

"Davina," Kol stuck out his arm to stop her as she tried to walk passed and he felt her tense when they almost touched "Thank you."

"Anything for an old friend," she forced a smile before she went out the door, followed by Vincent.

"How are you feeling?" Enzo sank down on the mattress and ran his hand hand softly down her cheek.

"Tired," she smiled "Tired and confused..."

"We'll explain it all to you tomorrow," Marcel walked up behind Enzo "You need to sleep."

"Yes, how about all of you potential suitors take leave for a while?" Klaus looked around the room "Leave us with our sister."

Enzo bent down and planted a kiss on Rebekah's forehead. Marcel closed his eyes with frustration but managed to keep his mouth shut.

"Take your gift with you," Kol kicked at Finn again.

"Yes and keep an eye on him, will you please gentlemen? Bodies tend to turn up missing around here," Elijah instructed.

Enzo bent down, picked him up with a confident smile and carried him out the door, closing it behind them.

"Quite the rollercoaster day you have put us through sister," Elijah returned to his place on the bed.

"Yes, do try not to infuriate any _future_ sisters that might show up," Kol smirked "I don't think I can go through that again."

"Thank you," Rebekah sighed, leaning back on her pillows "Thank you for everything. I know it must not have been easy to get Davina here."

"I must say Kol came through for us," Elijah looked over at him "Our brother's powers of persuasion..."

"Are unmatched," Rebekah smiled.

"Yes, well," Kol crossed the room and planted an uncharacteristic kiss on the top of Rebekah's head "Before this turns into a discussion that I would rather not have with my sister, I will retreat downstairs...I am very happy you're safe. It wouldn't be right for me to walk this earth with you gone after everything you have done for me."

"I guess we're even," she tucked her hair behind her ear.

"For now," he winked slyly.

Kol passed by Klaus on the way out, leaving the three of them alone.

"Are you sure you feel all right?" Elijah reached up and pressed the back of his hand to her forehead.

"Elijah, I'm fine," she softly pushed his hand away "I am as reslient as ever...I'm just exhausted."

"Then we should let you get your rest, although I think one of us should stand guard just in case," Elijah looked over at a very quiet Klaus who still stood back from the bed.

"I'll stay," he answered quickly "Perhaps you should go corral the lurkers downstairs."

Elijah stood to his feet.

"But Elijah," Klaus held his hand out as he headed for the door "Do not wake him until I am present."

Elijah nodded with understanding and then left them alone.

"I'm not going to combust, Nik," Rebekah shook her head "I don't need a babysitter."

"After the shenanigans that have gone on today, you are lucky I don't have you in a bullet proof box," he sighed, finally walking toward the bed.

Rebekah noticed immediately the change in his demeanor. He seemed on edge, he wreaked of booze and his eyes wouldn't meet hers.

"All this talk of me being ok, I think the question should be are you?" she raised an eyebrow.

"What?" he seemed taken aback as he finally reached the bed.

"You're a mess," she stared at him "Is something else going on?"

"No, nothing else," Klaus sank down onto the mattress.

As he did, the white oak stake rolled out of his jacket and onto the bed. Rebekah noticed immediately the blood on the end of it. A tiny gasp escaped her mouth.

"What happened?"

Klaus silently cursed himself for the mishap and shoved it back in his pocket.

"Nothing," he shook his head "Just a little target practice earlier with some tourists."

"Nik...What did you do?"

She reached up with her still weak hand and pushed the side of his jacket back. There was hole in his shirt, right over his heart. The fabric of his shirt was tinged with blood.

"What happened?" her eyes widened with fear "Did Finn do this to you?"

Klaus still avoided her eyes, looking down at the bed and starting to count the number of fibers in the blanket.

"Look at me," she spat sternly.

Finally, his eyes met hers and in an instant she realized the truth.

"You did this to yourself," she answered her own question "Why?"

"Rebekah, go to sleep," he stood up and moved toward the window "You need to rest after the torture you have been through."

"Why did you do that to yourself?" she managed to slide out of the bed while his back was turned.

"I said _don't_ ask me!" he turned and as he did, he smashed into her.

In her still weak state, she stumbled back slightly and he cringed.

"Go to sleep Rebekah," he said in a softer voice.

So she did.


	23. Chapter 23

Finally an update. Sorry for the delay.

* * *

The sun was just beginning to rise over the city. Anyone else would see it as a beautiful start to the work day but to the group of men carrying a draped and daggered body through the streets, it was anything but. Although, there _was_ work to be done.

Marcel led the vampires down a staircase, into the dark depths of what appeared to Enzo to be some sort of bunker underground. Marcel and Elijah moved to light the torches that would illuminate the closed quarters.

Body parts, heads, limbs, bones, were strewn about the earth below their feet. Chains were attached to the walls. He felt his defenses go up slightly.

"Where the bloody hell are we?" Enzo glanced around.

"This?" Klaus turned to him with a hint of delight "Oh _this _is the basement of what was to be Rebekah and Marcel's home. However, that was before his heart was broken and he turned it into his own little dungeon of terrors to drown his sorrows by torturing wayward vampires."

"I don't see why we needed to bring him with us," Marcel sneered at Enzo, trying to change the subject.

"He did everything possible to help save my sister. I would think you would be a little more grateful Marcellus," Klaus insisted, a smirk spreading across his lips because he knew how salty Marcel was.

Marcel glared at him, as he and Elijah began to painstakingly dig a hole in the dirt with shovels.

"And are we to torture Finn here?" Enzo glanced around "How exactly? Don't tell me these chains are meant to hold him."

Klaus smiled with amusement and hooked his arm around Enzo's shoulders.

"We shall bury him up to his chin, force him to tell us his secrets, then dagger him and leave him here to rot," he breathed out with eagerness.

"I hope you're right," Marcel tossed his shovel to the ground "This crazy bastard better give up what he knows. Rebekah isn't safe until we burn Freya to nothing."

"None of us are," Elijah glanced around the room "As long as she is linked to the earth she is a threat to our entire family."

"Then let's get on with it, shall we gentlemen?" Klaus leaned down and jerked the dagger from Finn's chest "Wakey wakey big brother. Time to face the firing squad..."

* * *

"It's amazing, there's an app for everything," Kol marveled as he scrolled through his cell phone.

Rebekah stirred in her bed and sat up abruptly, the sun streaming through the window so bright it almost blinded her.

Kol looked up and noticed the pained look on her face.

"Hypersensitivity," he sighed reaching over and closing the drapes "It will pass."

"Where is everyone?" she sighed, drawing her knees up to her chest sleepily.

"Thank you Kol for sitting with me and not leaving me alone to be swallowed up again by our witchy bitch sister," Kol rolled his eyes as he turned his attention back to his phone.

"Sorry," she sighed.

"They're off torturing Finn," he continued to look at his phone.

"And you didn't want to go?"

"Not especially."

"Since when do you pass up a chance to mame and torture?" Rebekah took notice of a mug of tea sitting on her nightstand and reached for it.

"There's plenty of them. Two of our brothers and two fools in love, I think they have it covered."

"Put down that silly phone," she spat as she stirred her tea with the bag.

He sighed, locking the screen and shoving it into his jacket pocket.

"You didn't want to go because you're still afraid of him," she insisted, finally catching his gaze.

"I'm not afraid of anyone," Kol sat up in his seat.

"I'm afraid of him too," she sat her mug on the table and scooted to the end of the bed "Even though we are just as powerful as he is...We are nothing to him...Strangers with targets on our chests."

Kol's eyes fell to the floor.

"We are better than he is Kol," she reached out and placed her still weak hand on his shoulder "_You_ are a better man than he is. Than he _ever_ was."

"Flattery will get you nowhere little sister," Kol smirked at her "I have strict orders not to let you leave this room until Freya's been found."

"Since when have you followed orders?" she grinned mischeviously.

"Rebekah,_ no_," he tried his most stern voice.

"Nobody tells me what to do," she lowered her feet to the floor "Not even you, Kol. This started because I killed Freya, I'm not going to sit by and let the boys clean up after me. Not to mention let that lot have all the fun torturing Finn."

"Bex, just get back in the damn bed," Kol sighed "Nik will..."

"Don't worry about Nik," she stood up and walked toward the window, pushing the curtain back slowy to allow her eyes to adjust again to the light.

"You know I lost count of the times I have been daggered when he went into one of his tantrums?" Kol looked up at her annoyed "Not to mention how many times you were the reason for it?"

"He won't dagger you Kol...He's different now," she sighed, remembering the quiet moments she had shared with Klaus the night before. The sight of the previous wound on his chest, near his heart..

"He's very different..." she stared out the window "If you want to sit here and wallow in fear and self loathing go ahead."

She turned and walked toward the door.

"What are you going to do?"

"First, I'm going to shower. I smell like blood and vomit. After wards, I'm going to catch up with the vampire torture possee and tell them I want my turn. Coming with me?"

* * *

Davina was sitting at her desk, her eyes fluttering to stay awake as she tried to concentrate on the papers in front of her. Candles were lit all around the room providing the only light. She liked it that way. It was...comforting.

"You've been up all night," Vincent folded his arms as he walked into the doorway "Don't you think its time you try to get some sleep?"

"I could say the same for you," she smirked at him as he shut the door behind him.

"Don't tell me you're planning to reinstate that spell?" Vincent motioned to the aged papers before her.

"No," she handed the top sheet over to him "Even better."

"What's this?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Freya found the spell to reverse the hybrid curse. She must have been hiding it for months, pretending to be working on it while all the while she was working on her big plan to take over the family."

"You're kidding me," Vincent laughed "We have the cure to release all the wolves? Davina, do you realize if we did that we would have allies against the vampires? The wolves hate Klaus for what he did to them, Hayley included. If we bring them out of the darkness, give them their lives back..."

"Not yet," she shook her head sternly.

"What? This is the exact leverage we've been looking for."

"It_ is_ leverage," Davina rubbed her eyes and stood to her feet "Leverage I can use whenever I want, to get whatever I want."

"What are you talking about?" Vincent pinched the bridge of his nose in an effort to keep himself both awake, and control his temper.

"The vampires want that cure buried for good, the wolves would be loyal to whomever helped them. Freya and Finn are still a threat to the covens...It's leverage we can hold over anyone."

"So we have the best bargaining chip possible to get the upper hand in this city, and you want to sit on it and not tell anyone?"

"Exactly," Davina nodded "I know what I'm doing Vincent."

He layed the paper back down on the desk and pushed it toward her.

"Fine," he sighed "You're the regent, right?"

"I'm the regent," she smiled satisfied "And you won't tell a soul."

* * *

Rebekah stood in front of her bathroom mirror and splashed some water on her face. She still felt weak, shaky like a newborn animal.

As she began to pull a brush through her matted wet hair, she noticed something that made her stomach sink. Leaning forward toward the mirror, she watched as a stream of blood dripped down from her nose toward her lip. She quickly wiped it away.

Bracing her hands on the sides of the sink, she looked up into the mirror again and was shocked at what she saw.

Freya in the reflection of glass. She looked tired, angry, just as she had looked when they had left her the night before alone in the hut.

She turned to look behind her but nobody was there, back in the mirror though Freya was still staring at her.

"What the bloody hell?" she gasped, as another trickle of blood ran down from her nose.

Freya continued to stare, this time with a bit of a smirk on her cracked lips.

"You can't beat me Freya!" Rebekah shouted toward the mirror "You can't beat us!"

The blood increased now, streaming from her nose.

"You won't win! No one ever wins against a true Mikaelson!"

Then, Freya's reflection was gone. The blood disappeared from Rebekah's face and she was alone again.

* * *

Blood ran down Finn's mouth as he received punch after kick from the four vile vampires crowded around him. He refused to wince, to show any sign of pain or discomfort. He wouldn't give them the pleasure.

"Where is Freya?" Klaus crouched down after their latest round of beatings "That's all you have to tell us brother and then all of this will stop."

"Do you honestly expect me to believe you Niklaus?" he snarled in response, spitting blood from his bruised lips "I know you better than anyone. I know the _real _you. The monster at the core who cares nothing for anyone but himself...You want to destroy Freya to save yourself...I would never give you the satisfaction."

"And you care nothing for the rest of your family?" Enzo snarled "What about the pleas from you and Freya for Rebekah to join your side?...That you saw the goodness in her that your brothers lack. Was that all a lie too?"

"No," Finn closed his eyes to center himself and find strength to continue speaking "I had every intention of sparing Rebekah up until the moment she took Freya's life. She was the best of the lot of you, but you have poisoned her. Destroyed the simple innocence of who she was..."

"None of us have been innocent since the night father drove his sword through our hearts," Elijah observed, without even looking in Finn's direction.

"Rebekah was good," Finn continued, ignoring Elijah "Now she's just as ruined and pathetic as the rest of you...That bitch deserves to rot in hell along with the rest of this miserable family."

Before Klaus could respond, Enzo kicked Finn so hard in the face that Klaus half expected his head to fly off, if that were possible.

"Where is she?!" he shouted, so fiercely and passionately, that Klaus smiled with approval.

"She could be anywhere...Anywhere..." Finn smirked as he reeled from the blow "Good luck finding her. I, unlike the rest of you, know how to protect my sister."

"You weren't such a good protecter when our sister ripped your sister's bloody heart out, were you?" Klaus scoffed.

"Look," Marcel dropped to the ground to get as close to Finn as possible "You have no way out here, Finn. Either you give up Freya or we dagger you for all of eternity. Either way you lose. So how about you give her up? What has she done for you, huh? She's left you here to face us. She's trapped with the spirits of New Orleans and there's no getting her back. She can't save you. She can't rescue you from your fate."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Finn grinned, his teeth covered in fresh blood "The bond of family is strong...True family."

"Then let us make one thing perfectly clear," Elijah pushed out the back of his suit jacket so as not to wrinkle it, before squatting down onto the dirt next to Marcel "The bond within our family is strong, of that you are correct. We will do anything to protect those that matter most to us. So, Finneas, if you still plan on starting a war with us, know this...You. Will. Fail."

Elijah stood back to his feet, then gave one more kick to the back of Finn's head.

"Dig him up and dagger him," Elijah spoke coldly "We'll solve this on our own. We do not need a traitor's help."

"Noble Elijah," Finn taunted him as Marcel and Enzo pull him out of the ground.

Reluctantly, Elijah turned his head to lock eyes with him.

"It is not I who will fail," Finn shook his head "It will be..."

Marcel drove the dagger through his heart, before he could speak another word. His skin began to gray immediately and he fell limp onto the ground as they both let go of him.

"Any ideas?" Enzo looked to Klaus.

"She has to be in the bayou..." he paced around "Placing her near the wolves, near our enemies...That's exactly what he would do. What Freya would tell him to do."

"So we send out a search party, cover every inch, fight wolves, ward off witches," Enzo sighed "To what end? Rebekah could die at any moment. Freya may have hatred for all of you, but Rebekah is clearly her main target."

"I'm pretty sure I'm still bloody good at defending myself," Rebekah's voice shocked them all as she appeared in the doorway to the garden with Kol.

"Kol," Klaus growled with disappointment.

"Don't blame him Nik," she shook her head "You know I have the power of persuasion."

Elijah licked the smirk off his lips, as he and Klaus exchanged glances.

"So, bayou hunting?" Rebekah raised an eyebrow "When do we start?"

* * *

Davina opened her eyes to the darkness of her must have slept most of the day away after her exhausting experience with the Mikaelsons. She let out a sigh and pulled herself out of the comfort of her nice warm sheets.

There was work to be done.

She padded down the hallway after retrieving a cup of tea and went back into her office, closing the door quietly. She still needed to master the crescent spell and she had no idea how much time she had before she would need it.

Davina set the tea mug down on her desk and reached for the stack of papers. On top, was the spell that had saved Rebekah.

She didn't feel guilty for helping Rebekah. Not only did the Mikaelsons now owe her a favor, but Rebekah had seemed truly grateful. Not to mention that Davina loved showing Freya how powerful she was in comparison.

She flipped through a couple of the other spells, then stop suddenly. She flipped through them again.

"Where is it?!" she grew anxious "Where is it?!"

She began ransacking her desk, tossing papers left and right, digging through drawers.

"No!" she shouted in frustration "No!"

Vincent was in the room within seconds, his eyes blared in confusion.

"It's gone!' she shouted at him, her eyes starting to brim with tears "The spell is gone!"

* * *

Finn's gray body lay alone in the garden.

Vampire hearing could pick up on the sounds of bugs digging through the earth and through the bodies that still inhabited the dark corners of the bunker.

Suddenly Finn's eyes flew open and he took in a deep breath. Using his weak hand, he reached up and pulled the dagger from his heart.

A smile formed on his lips as the color started to return to him.

"A war _indeed_."


	24. Chapter 24

Sorry again for the delay. Expect an update maybe once a month? Maybe less. Thanks for sticking with it if you're still around. And of course, reviews are always appreciated.

* * *

"We need to split up," Klaus barked as they neared the bayou "Cover more ground. Leave no stone unturned."

"I'll take Lorenzo and Marcellus," Elijah turned to them with a smirk on his lips "There are a few things we need to discuss."

"Trust exercises in the woods, brother?" Klaus laughed "Well aren't you the boyscout."

Rebekah felt wary about sending Enzo off without her, but better to be alone with Elijah than Klaus.

"Be careful," Enzo took the side of her face in his hand and she closed her eyes at his touch. She could smell the wet earth and the scent of Enzo she had come to know, a mix between warn leather and bourbon.

"You as well," she finally opened her eyes "We shall have many more adventures together."

"None as mystifying as this I hope," he smiled, before drawing her lips to his.

Marcel scowled as he leaned up against a tree. Elijah turned his eyes away, while her other two brothers shifted uncomfortably.

"Let's go Rebekah!" Klaus finally interrupted them "Need I remind you there is a target on your back the size of Mt. Everest? Now is not the time to be pawing your lover in the middle of the swamp."

"Elijah?" Rebekah turned her worried eyes to her eldest brother, fear on her furrowed brow.

"He will be fine sister, I promise you," Elijah reassured her.

Rebekah let go of the tight grasp of Enzo's hand as she followed her brothers in the opposite direction.

"I thought you were growing fond of him Nik?" Rebekah strode beside him, as Kol walked a little behind.

"I respect his devotion to you dear sister, but he has not yet earned my full trust."

"Has anyone?" Kol spat as he caught up to them.

Klaus glared at him but didn't answer the question.

The three began concentrating on the ground. Any earth that seemed moved or uneven, fallen trees, circling birds. Their senses were on high alert, like always.

Kol had been stewing with his feelings for the last twenty-four hours. Although he despised Freya and everything she had done, she had told him the truth about his past. The truth about why his family had never felt connected to him. She had given light to the reason why he had never felt included. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. Now that they were alone, no outsiders, he felt like he could address the issue. In a time and a place that Niklaus could not run, could not get away from the truth.

"Rebekah," Kol spoke in his most nonchalant voice, after a while of searching "Did you know that Niklaus lied to you on the day I disappeared?"

"What are you talking about Kol?" she groaned as she kicked some dirt around with her boot.

"Kol," Klaus growled "Now is not the time for you to air your grievances."

"Why not, Nik? Perhaps Freya had the right idea? Lay it all out in case we meet our deaths in this disgusting swamp."

"I already asked once, what are you two talking about?" Rebekah sighed, moving on to another section of ground.

"The morning I left Mystic Falls, Nik told you and Elijah that I set out on my own. That was a lie."

Rebekah stopped where she stood and moved her eyes between the two of them.

"Our big brother told me to leave," Kol scowled "He told me you would all scatter to different ends of the Earth and sent me out on my own. A new vampire, unaware of my capabilities, sent out alone while you two remained with the ever watchful Niklaus."

"Kol," Klaus said through gritted teeth in warning.

"No let's get this over with, Nik! Let's talk about how you lied to them! You made me look like a deserter when in all reality you wanted to push me away!...The years, centuries, that went by while I remained alone and you..."

"Enough Kol!" Klaus spat "I told you, we will discuss this later."

"Kol," Rebekah landed her eyes on him, her face white with shock "I had no idea."

"I know," Kol sighed, as he pushed through some tree limbs "Nik made sure of that."

"Nik," she looked over at him "How could you?"

"Oh for goodness sakes, it was a bloody millineum ago!" Kol raised his arms.

"We harbored resentment and anger toward him for hundreds of years when you knew the truth all along?" she spat "He died without us knowing the truth."

"And now he's back," Klaus quipped "The truth is out and you two can go skipping hand and hand through the bayou once we have found Freya's worthless body. There are more pressing matters than hurt feelings at the moment."

Rebekah knew he was right, but she was angry. Pushing it down, she kept trudging through the muck, although she stuck close to Kol.

* * *

"Gentlemen, shall we?" Elijah raised his arm, ushering his two search companions ahead of him.

"Do you always go grave digging in Armani suits?" Enzo questioned as he walked past him.

"One must never let situation dictate manners and class, Lorenzo," Elijah followed him, as Marcel led the way.

Marcel created more distance between them until he was just barely in sight of Elijah's watchful eye.

"You care for my sister greatly," Elijah strode beside Enzo, as they searched the earth around them for disruptions.

"I do indeed."

"You did a great deal to help her in those precious hours, that is something I will not forget. I assure you that you will always have my gratitude and one day I hope I can return the favor."

"I didn't do anything for favors," Enzo batted at some overgrown brush "I did it for Rebekah."

"My sister has attracted many suitors over the years. Most taken out by Niklaus before I even had the chance to get to know them myself..."

"It's a bit odd don't you think? Klaus having so much control over your sister's life?" Enzo glanced over at him.

"You would have to understand the complexities of my siblings' relationship," Elijah smirked "They had a connection as children. One that even _I_ could not encroach upon. Rebekah and Niklaus fear the demise of the other more than anything else on this earth and I am no stranger to that fact."

"So why take away Rebekah's happiness?"

"Taking away Rebekah's happiness is not how he sees it," Elijah checked his pocket watch as they walked "He sees it as protecting her from heartbreak. Although he has grown progressively in that department over the last year."

"And what of Kol? How does he fit into all of this?"

"Kol was always the outsider," Elijah sighed as returned his gaze to Marcel slashing through the reeds and limbs ahead "But he is one of us. He will always have a place in our home and in our family."

"He appears to be a little mad," Enzo raised an amused eyebrow.

"That he is," Elijah nodded in agreement "Marcellus! Marcellus are you trying to leave us behind?"

"I'm searching!" he shouted back "Which is more than I can say for the two of you!"

"Too much love talk for you mate?" Enzo baited him.

He saw Marcel's back stiffen, then he continued on.

"Might I offer you a bit of advice Lorenzo," Elijah kicked a rock from his path "Perhaps you should lay off Marcel. He's been known to go a little mad from time to time himself."

"So have I," Enzo snarled in Marcel's direction.

* * *

"Oh hell no!" Vincent bellowed when he saw a slow moving Finn walking toward the door to Davina's home "You know damn good and well I have to invite you in...And you know that ain't happening."

"You'll invite me in eventually," Finn smirked "I've come here with a proposition for your regent."

"She doesn't take requests from the likes of you. Now get on out of here before I cast a spell more powerful than the last."

Vincent turned to go back inside.

"What if I told you I know what happened to your crescent spell?!" Finn shouted after him.

He stopped and turned slowly.

"How do you know about that?"

"It was my sister who took it. Right out from under your regent's nose."

"You sister is dead."

"Her body has been concecrated as you know and with a little help from the ancestors she was able to perform some amazing feats last night."

"Davina locked her inside her own personal hell last night. A witch just doesn't walk out of that."

"Maybe not any witch you've ever met," Finn grinned with pride "Freya is far more powerful than that little girl you have hiding in there. The ancestors of both dark and natural magic have banded together to support her in the quest to kill my family."

"And how does the spell fit into all of this, hm? Why would she take it?"

"Incentive," Finn shrugged "Davina hates Freya, so had to have a way to get her to do the ancestors' will. That is, if she wants to do it the easy way."

"So you give us the spell, what does she gotta do for you?"

"That's easy...Ressurrect my sister."

"Now why would we want to bring that crazy brawd back to New Orleans huh?" Vincent moved further down the stairs.

"Hm," Finn suppressed a smirk on his lips "I'm going to let that one go since I need your help..."

"Why should I help her?" Davina's voice interrupted their stare down as she came out on the front porch.

"Davina go back inside!" Vincent ordered her.

"Freya is evil," Davina ignored him "She's just as dangerous as the Mikaelsons. Why would I bring her back?"

"Because if you don't, the ancestors will take care of you. Many a regent has died as a result of denying the ancestors' requests."

"Davina," Vincent warned her.

"If I ressurrect her, she come for me. Will the ancestors allow it?"

"Freya doesn't want anything to do with you. Or the covens. She wants to end our family, then get out of this city. You are far beneath her, Miss Claire. You're just the best the ancestors have, with the Otherside gone. You're not worth getting her hands dirty. The ancestors would never allow her to touch you without repricussions."

Davina tensed with anger. Despite how disgusting Finn and Freya both were, she believed him when he said Freya didn't want to come after her or her place as regent. This was never about her. It was about Klaus.

"And if you kill Klaus, you will kill every vampire he has ever sired. That includes some of my dearest friends. I will _not_ allow that."

"Davina, stop entertaining this foolishness!" Vincent ran his hands over his face.

"My sister is willing to help you there. A spell can be cast to unlink the sired. She has learned it from the ancestors. It is a dark spell, but she can do it merely with a drop of each of their blood."

"And how do you know all this? Can you speak to her?" Davina moved further down to the bottom of the stairs.

"She has enough energy to manifest herself to me. This morning she channeled enough strength to wake me from a daggering from my brothers. She channeled enough strength last night to steal your spell. She is indeed powerful Miss Claire. Perhaps you will pick up a few tips along the way."

"Where is Freya now?" Davina moved beside Vincent.

"You can't be serious Davina?" Vincent groaned "She_ will_ come for you."

"No she won't," Finn looked Davina in the eyes "As I said before, my sister may not like you or your methods of magic but you are not her intended target. She wants you as an ally and she is prepared to protect your precious friends."

"Take me to her," Davina started to follow him.

"Why did I get myself into all this mess?" Vincent started talking to himself as he followed them "I could be teaching at the college right now, but no I had to start my magic again and move in with the regent..."

"You buried her here?" Davina raised a wary eyebrow as she descended the staircase into the cellar of an old building in the middle of the city.

"I knew Niklaus and the others would assume that Freya would lie in the bayou, so I chose a place they would never look. The floor of this cellar is mere earth," Finn reached up and pulled the cord on a bare lightbulb hanging from the ceiling.

"You will find her here," he motioned to a bump of dirt in the center of the room.

Wine bottles lined the walls, some empty and some still filled with now vintage concoctions.

"Dig her up," Davina folded her arms across her chest, "I'll need a match."

"You're about to get yourself into a whole mess of trouble, Davina," Vincent sighed from his perch on the stairs.

"Get a match," she ordered him blankly.

* * *

Rebekah wondered away from her bickering brothers, searching on her own but still within earshot of them. She needed some time to think. Freya had brought nothing but strife and friction into their family. Not that they were immune to such things, it was the very fabric of the Mikaelson dna but bringing up thousand year old secrets...

Suddenly, she felt a tightness in her chest and leaned against a tree for support. She felt her breath start to constrict as if a hand were grasping around her throat. Slowly her body began to lift off the ground and fear raced through her veins.

As she struggled to break free of the invisible force, a voice spoke clearly into her ear.

"I'm coming for you...For all of you."

She felt the power around her neck release and she fell to the ground with a hard thud. She coughed and sputtered as she tried to shake the feeling from her body.

"Rebekah!" Klaus was by her side in an instant "What happened?"

"She's was here," she whispered, running her hand over her throat "She was here."

"Nik, look," Kol motioned to Rebekah's bare throat, which had a handprint forming in blood on her white flesh.

Klaus drew in a deep breath and closed his eyes.

Rebekah's hand went up to her throat and Kol crouched down to wipe some of the blood away.

"What is happening?" Rebekah shook her head.

"I have had _enough_ of this," Klaus stood to his feet "She's not here. She's not in the bayou. We have been fooled!"


	25. Chapter 25

"You will not step one foot outside this door, do you understand?" Klaus spat as he pulled Rebekah into St. James.

Rebekah looked him in the eyes, forcing him to hold her gaze.

"I took her down once, I can do it again," she growled.

"And that _once _almost cost you your life," he glared at her, still gripping her arm.

"And what of you?" she jerked her arm away "You tried to drive the white oak through your own heart!"

His mouth slammed shut and his eyes dropped to the floor in hesitation.

"Why did you do that Nik?" she shook her head.

He didn't respond.

"You thought if you killed yourself, that you might quench Freya's thirst for Mikaelson blood," she answered for him "You wanted to..."

"Yes, I was willing to sacrifice myself to save my family! To ensure that my daughter has a future where she can be safe," he raised his voice with his eyes flaring "I was willing to die to save _you_!"

Rebekah sighed, running a hand through her short hair. Klaus refused to look at her, he looked almost sheepish having revealed such selfless intentions aloud. He let out a shaky gasp of realization that he had just blurted out something he had intended to never speak of to anyone.

"I know," she whispered, closing her eyes tightly.

"No one is to ever know what I did, do you understand me?" he finally gathered himself and looked up at her.

She nodded weakly. The great Klaus Mikaelson bowing to fear and willing to die instead of standing to fight, he would not stand for that.

A moment of silence passed between them, except Rebekah could hear jazz playing on what sounded like a record player in another room. Klaus didn't seem to notice anything, not even the pouding ticking of the clock on the wall reminding them time was slipping through their fingers.

"We have to work with each other to stop her," she moved toward him at last "We are in this together."

"No," he shook his head "This is _my _responsibility. I am the one who provoked her. I am the one who boxed Finn for nine hundred years. I am the one she feels has wronged her."

"I killed her!" Rebekah lashed out in amazement "I ripped her heart from her chest! _I_ am the one she wants."

"No," he insisted "This whole nightmare started because of her disdain for me. She feels I wronged her by not allowing her into this family."

"The only person you are wronging is yourself," she gripped his shoulders between her hands "This is not your burden to bare alone. We vowed to stick together. We have faced many enemies...We have never been defeated."

"You say these words now...Only mere days ago I tried to kill your hood of a boyfriend and sent Elijah staggering to the bayou," he looked up at her with eyes that had a sheen of tears brimming in them.

"And only hours ago, you helped save my life," she countered "You joined forces with people you despise in order to reverse Freya's spell."

"Was I to sit by and watch you waste away to dust?" he raised an accusing eyebrow.

"Truth be told there have been times when I would think that's exactly what you would have done," she folded her arms across her chest.

"You think to little of me," his eyes grew more serious.

"And you think to little of Freya," she sighed heavily "You are going to need every last person you can get in order to take her down. Yes, I know tensions are running high and after we have destroyed our maniacal siblings there are things that need to be addressed but..."

"Well wasn't that a nice stroll through the wilderness," Enzo's less than eager voice interrupted their conversation.

They turned to find the rest of the search party entering the building.

"Niklaus, now that we are all here would you mind enlightening us on why you believe that murderous wench is among the living?" Elijah straightened his tie.

"Simple," Klaus held his hands by his sides "Freya is nowhere to be found in the bayou. Her attempts to harm Rebekah have continued and most importantly...Finn is gone.

"What?" Marcel spat sharply.

"I had Josh go over to The Garden," Klaus looked over at him "Nothing there but the rotting corpses of your sinners."

"Who would want him?" Rebekah snarled.

"Perhaps we got lucky and someone found a shard of white oak lying around," Kol rolled his eyes.

"Or Finn is working with someone inside the city in order to ressurect our dispicable sister from the dead," Klaus finished, his eyes darting to Marcel.

There was a silence hanging in the air as everyone realized what Klaus was thinking.

"You don't think...No, no way," Marcel shook his head "D wouldn't help Finn. She wants to stay out of Mikaelson business."

"What if she doesn't have a choice?" Kol thought aloud "What if Freya has some sort of control over her?"

"Every witch in the Quarter hates us!" Rebekah chimed in nervously "Even if Davina isn't responsible, it would be very easy for Finn to find someone willing to do Freya's bidding. He's smarter than we give him credit for. He expected us to look in the bayou...He wanted us distracted..."

"Fine," Klaus ran his hand over his face "We shall search this city. Top to bottom. Every building, every courtyard, every cemetery."

"We must do it quickly, before it's too late," Elijah sighed.

"Enzo, you stay here with Rebekah," Klaus ordered with a pointed finger "If you let her out of this building I shall string you up alongside Freya when I get my bloody hands on her."

"Well, that's straight to the point now isn't it?" Enzo sighed, leaning against the bar next to where Rebekah stood.

"We are trusting you Lorenzo," Elijah walked toward him "Do not make us regret our decision."

Rebekah rolled her eyes.

"Yeah it'll be four against one, don't you forget that," Marcel cast him a wary glare sd he headed for the door.

Enzo didn't even flinch and instead held up his hand in a mocking wave. Kol snarled slightly at his audacity as they all filed out of the building.

"Care for a drink love?" Enzo walked around the bar and began rattling bottles.

"Scotch," she sighed, sliding onto a stool "I can't believe this is happening...Bigger glass."

Enzo switched up the size of the glasses and then fished a bottle from the rack below.

"What did she do to you?" he poured them each an ample shot.

"She pinned me against a tree...tried to choke me," Rebekah grabbed her glass and downed it "You know, the usual from sister dearest."

"And she can do no harm here?"

"This is the only place in the world safe from magic. Inside these walls any mythical creature is safe from those who have been consecrated, from those who walk among the living as witches."

"Well then, shall we have another?"

Enzo poured two more glasses.

"To family?" he offered with a raised eyebrow.

"To family," she whispered hoarsely "May they remain as safe as we are now."

* * *

"I don't like the idea of leaving her alone with that guy," Marcel growled as he followed Kol down an alley.

"Oh come off it Marcel. What my sister and you had was decades ago. Must you continue to grasp at the shortest of straws?" Kol tilted his head back with annoyance.

"You don't really care," Marcel mused "You just want me to shut up. My whole life all you wanted me to do was shut up. Bow down to you like you're something special. Always treated me like..."

"Will the two of you please maintain some level of decorum?" Elijah sneered, as he and Klaus came around the corner.

"Yes, how about you both shut up?" Klaus smirked, despite his frustration.

"We've looked everywhere," Marcel leaned against the wall "Every church, every basement, every attic, every..."

"Hide and seek is for children."

They all turned to find the icy glare of Freya's heartless eyes staring at them, Finn lingering in the background.

"You are right about that," Klaus nodded "But it can be so much fun when one stalks his prey."

"I could not agree with you more Klaus," she folded her arms across her chest.

"I see you crawled your way back from the ancestral realm," Elijah walked up to stand even with his brother "Such a pity that hell is missing it's most prized she-devil."

Finn scowled and took his place beside his sister. Kol did his best to not show fear, instead he kept a poker face and walked up to Elijah's left side.

"Must be make you realize how pathetic you are when you have to resurrect your sister to protect your ass," Marcel shook his head "Just as well I never knew you, don't think I missed much."

"Are you all quite finished with your verbal berating?" Freya rolled her eyes dramatically.

"Oh, I'm just getting started," Klaus moved closer toward her "You will cease all attacks on Rebekah from this point forward. She is not the one you want. Your problem lies with me."

"Perhaps," Freya tilted her head "Perhaps my problem _does_ lie with you, at it's core. It _is _rather problematic when the family you have always dreamed of casts you out on your own. It is also problematic when they only come to you when they need something. Always taking, never giving."

"Giving of what?" Klaus scoffed "Affection? Surely you did not expect affection from me?"

"Niklaus has never been the emotional type," Elijah quipped "Come to think of it, none of us are particularly prone to loving those who side with our enemies."

"Rebekah has been known to love an enemy from time to time," Freya looked up at him sharply "And yet here you all are, defending her."

"Rebekah's sins are nothing compared to yours," Klaus shrugged "Our sister is easily swayed by a handsome face and a promise of love, but I assure you,plotting to take out our entire family is something only you could dream up in that twisted mind of yours."

"Do I have to remind you that Kol would not even be standing here if it weren't for me?" Freya glared.

"You never would have done that spell if Rebekah hadn't begged you to," Kol finally spoke "You had no loyalty to me."

"To any of us. Nor did we to you," Elijah added "In this family ,Freya, respect must be earned."

She let out a laugh of sheer madness. A laugh that they were quite frankly getting tired of hearing.

"Respect?" she gasped through her reaction "Respect? Is that what you call it? The way you all lie and hurt each other? Oh, if that is repect brother then I don't want any part of it."

"Let's do this sister," Finn nudged her "I am tired of all this talking."

"Go on," Klaus shrugged "If you think the two of you can take down the four of us...Have at it."

"You know what they say about white oak, _brother,_" Freya pulled the stake from her coat pocket "Never leave home without it...And never leave it in the hands of some ridiculous nurse maid."

"Hope," Klaus' eyes were filled with fear.

"Don't worry, I wouldn't stoop to the level of harming child," Freya assured him "But I will say perhaps you should not leave your child in the hands of someone who can be compelled so easily."

Klaus' tension eased, if only slightly. Elijah let out a breath he had been holding in.

"Now," Freya held the stake up like a torch "Who goes first? I'd like to save Klaus for last if it's all right with all you."

* * *

Enzo sat on his barstool, downing shot after shot, as he watched Rebekah pace back and forth across the wooden floor.

"This is taking too long," she shook her head.

"They have to take down two creatures who by all accounts shouldn't even be alive at the moment," Enzo sat up "If you ask me, they haven't been gone nearly long enough."

"Right," she nodded, turning and continuing her pacing.

He sat a minute more, listening to the music that was playing throughout the building. He needed to distract her. He wanted to distract her. He stood and grabbed her hand, pulling her into him sharply.

"What are you doing?" she looked horrified at first.

"We are going to ease that pretty little mind of yours for a moment, hm?" he brushed hair behind her ear, as they began to sway back and forth.

"Enzo," she sighed with frustration.

"Shh," he whispered, pulling her head beside his.

She began to move to the music with him, allowing herself to get lost in Eartha Kitt, feeling him nuzzling close to her. A tiny smile fell across her worried face.

"Are you trying to seduce me Lorenzo?" she whispered softly into his ear.

"Merely offering you a more satisfying distraction than wearing a hole through the floorboards," he mused.

"Is that so?" she pulled back and looked into his eyes.

They stared at each other for a moment before his eyes fell to the floor.

"What's wrong?" she took his chin and lifted his face up to hers.

"What Marcel said...He's right. I was thrown out of Mystic Falls."

"So?" she scoffed "Hasn't everyone? You name me one supernatural soul that has entered that town that has not left it worse for the wear, or not at all."

He was silent, just staring into her eyes.

"I assure you Lorenzo no matter what heinous offense you have committed I, or certainly my brothers, have committed far worse."

"I love you."

It came out before he realized it was headed there. He felt her stop swaying to the music. Her mouth dropped open in speechlessness.

"Lorenzo," she cupped his face in her hand "I love you too."

Then she reached up and snapped his neck before she had the chance to see the smile that was forming on his face. He fell to the floor with a thud and she stepped over his body.

"That's why it's best you sit this one out," she called aloud as she headed for the door.


End file.
